The Mating Bond
by scourge-the-higher
Summary: Behind her eyelids, all she could see were the wisps of silver hair, shining almost effervescently in the brightness of the moonlight. There was something about the possessive, almost obsessive manner with which the creature had chased her. How badly did she wish she could erase the image of silver hair from her mind but… how badly she wished she could see who it belonged to.
1. Chapter 1

_A forest. Trees moving past in a blur. Ragged, excited breathing. Sliver of silver flying through the greenery._

 _The chase._

 _A turn at every bend. Small feet hitting the cold, damp forest floor, twigs breaking and leaves crunching._

 _The moon was at its fullest, shining down to illuminate the path._

 _A wall. It's the end._

 _A low growling, an intense heat against a rigid body._

 **" _Mine."_**

* * *

Kagome shot out of bed, nearly gasping for breath. Her sleep-filled eyes darted around her bedroom, surveying the area and making certain to touch over every piece of the room. When she found nothing foreign, she fell back and sighed, closing her eyes and trying to get the memory of the dream out of her head. She had been having the same dream for several nights in a row and it was beginning to trouble her. No matter how fast or how far she ran, that same creature always managed to find her.

Her gaze fell to the alarm clock on her bedside table whose green numbers glowed gently in the dim lighting of the early morning. There was still an hour before she had to get up. With a heavy sigh, she willed herself to close her eyes, finding it impossible to fall back into that comfort known as sleep. Behind her eyelids, all she could see were the wisps of silver hair, shining almost effervescently in the brightness of the moonlight. There was something about the possessive, almost obsessive manner with which the creature had chased her. Every night it seemed to get closer and closer to her, but it wasn't until this night that the creature had actually spoken to her. She had thought it might have been a wolf or some other forest-type creature but now she wasn't so certain.

She groaned in frustration, bringing her hands up to cover her face. There was no sense in thinking so intently about a dream—it was clear that she just needed to quit watching Teen Wolf before bed. The thought made her chuckle a little as she decided to rise out of bed. It was the first day of her senior year and she figured it was a blessing that she would be able to wake up early rather than later. At least it would give her more time to get ready for the long day ahead of her. After a few morning stretches and yawns, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and set out to get ready for the day.

When she finished, she hopped down the stairs, a bit of a pep in her step as she entered the kitchen. Her mother was working on cooking breakfast and turned to greet her daughter with a somewhat tired smile.

"Well someone's up early today. Too excited for your first day of senior year?" her mother asked as she continued to fry the eggs in the pan she held. Kagome smiled, nodding her head as she sat down at the kitchen table, tracing circles into the wood with her finger.

"Yeah. I'm so excited to see Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi. They've been busy all summer, so we really haven't been able to hang out," she answered, remembering all the failed slumber party plans. Their work schedules just didn't sync up any longer now that they were all doing their own things. Kagome figured school would help remedy that little issue.

"I'm glad that you'll be able to see your friends again. You'll have to invite them over for dinner sometime," the older Higurashi woman decided, smiling as she transferred the eggs from the pan onto a plate with waffles. She sat the plate in front of her daughter and moved back to the stove to continue cooking for her son who was much more of a late bloomer in the mornings than her daughter normally was.

"What about tonight? Could we have a sleepover tonight?" Kagome asked offhandedly, most throwing the idea out in the open to mull over.

"Actually, your grandfather and I are going to be visiting your aunt in the next town over for the night, so we'll have to have the sleepover another time. But don't worry honey, we should be back by tomorrow. We're just dropping off a few groceries since she's sick," her mother informed her. Kagome sighed and nodded, knowing that her aunt was seldom in good health.

"How's she doing? Is she getting any better?" the younger woman inquired, poking at her eggs with almost an air of disinterest. She watched as her mother's cheerful expression faltered for a moment, a mix of concern and sadness crossing her features.

"She's been better. That's why dad and I are heading over there today with some soup and medicine. Could you make sure to pick Souta up from the bus stop?" she asked, expertly turning the conversation more light-hearted. Kagome gave her mom a smile and a nod, but she was certain that they both knew the looming dread hanging over her aunt was not going to so easily be ignored.

When Kagome finished her breakfast, she gave her mother a kiss and waved goodbye as she headed out the door. The walk to school was like any other that she had done, as the path was well-known to her feet. In the quiet of the morning, she was left alone with her thoughts. She couldn't shake the strange feeling still shadowing her from earlier. Something about the vividness and intensity of the dream… the frequency—it was too strange to ignore. How badly did she wish she could erase the image of dark foliage and quaking fear from her mind but… how badly she wished she could see who the long, silver tresses belonged to. It was the way that singular utterance, "mine" pulled on her from her very core. It was a command, a statement, a plea… but certainly not a question. The deep, gravelly baritone voice followed her throughout her walk. Who did this voice belong to?

* * *

As was typical of any school-day, Kagome met her friends in a frenzy of squealing and excitement. Fond hugs and friendly scolding were exchanged, remarks about where the summer had gone flew around the friend group.

"Kagome, your legs look so long now!" Eri chirped, pointing at the pale appendages. Yuka and Ayumi nodded in agreement, fawning over Kagome as well. The girl in question flushed and bowed somewhat graciously, used to the typical "girl talk" that always seemed to accompany the back to school air.

"Thanks, Eri. Your hair looks so soft, what have you been using?"

Once the exchanges of compliments seemed to die down, the bell rang and once again, school was in session. Kagome picked up her schedule and headed to her first class of the day. When she entered the room, her eyes landed on an empty seat towards the middle. There was no way she was going to pick a front seat, but the back seat would never allow her much ability to focus. Throughout the school day, Kagome struggled to pay attention. Her mind kept falling back on that gruff voice—the one that seemed to be soothing her, calling her to him. She thanked every god she could think of when the school bell finally rang.

"Kagome we are totally having a girl's night this weekend, right?" Yuka asked in the middle of the group's usual casual babble. Kagome blinked, having not been paying attention, and gave Yuka a nod.

"Of course, silly! I took off this weekend since I figured that's exactly what we would do," she answered, brightening up a bit at the mention of getting to hang out with her friends. Ayumi and Eri squealed a little in excitement, continuing their conversation about what to bring for the sleepover and the different cute boys that they had seen in their classes.

When they parted ways, Kagome began walking home, looking around somewhat restlessly. There was something she was supposed to do, but she couldn't remember what it was for the life of her. After racking her brain for a few moments, she decided to head home. Once on the temple grounds, she dropped her bags off by the stairs and sat on a bench just outside. The day still had some light to it, she could go on a walk if she wanted. A strange sense of anxiety forbade her from doing so. It wasn't the right time. She furrowed her brows.

"What in the world is going on with me?" she muttered to herself, leaning forward and looking down at her hands. That's when it hit her. "Souta!"

She stood up and hurried down the steps, only stopping once she finally reached the bus stop just in time to greet her younger brother who descended the bus steps easily, chuckling a little at his older sister as he did so.

"Did you almost forget about me?" he asked, his grin turning upward teasingly. Kagome panted a little, catching her breath before shaking her head.

"Of course not. I could never forget about my little bother—I mean, brother," she corrected, sticking her tongue out at him for a second before laughing. The two began their ascent home.

"So how was school?" Kagome asked, tilting her head slightly as she glanced her brother's way. The boy seemed to shrug, not all that interested in chit chat.

"It was alright."

"Did you do anything interesting?" she prodded, trying to get more out of the young teen. Souta was going through a bit of a rebel phase, so it didn't shock her that he was trying to act like he was too cool to talk about school.

"Not really."

"Did you learn anything? Were there any teachers there at all?" she asked, getting a little annoyed. Souta snorted.

"Sure didn't feel like it. We just introduced ourselves and went over classroom rules," he answered, apparently deciding to give his poor sister a break.

When they reached the house, Kagome brought her bags in and noticed that her mother and grandpa must have prepared dinner for them already because there were several tin foil-covered dishes sitting on the stove in the kitchen.

"Okay Souta, it looks like Mom already made us dinner. Let's dig in," she called, figuring Souta was already washing up to eat. Once they finished eating, they went to bed.

 _Foliage._

 _Running, chasing._

 _Another turn, a dead end._

 _Silver hair gleaming in the light of the moon._

 _It's time to meet him. There's no escape. Heartbeat racing._

 _Turn around._

" _ **Mine,** "_ _it growls._

 _She looks up._

 _Gold._

* * *

He woke with a start. Regardless of the darkness, he knew his pupils were dilated to thin slits, his breathing ragged with exhaustion and excitement. As his eyes scanned his room, he knew immediately that it was too early to be awake. He groaned in annoyance and brought his hands to his face, rubbing at his tired eyes in frustration. That dream had been haunting him for several days now and he was losing too much sleep over it. Tonight, however, the dream had been different. He had finally caught the girl he had been chasing for so long. Well, he couldn't really tell if it was himself who had been chasing the girl, but he had always seen the dream from the chaser's perspective. Every night she had always been just out of reach but tonight, he sighed somewhat contently, he had finally caught her.

And she had been beautiful.

At least, he assumed she was. He couldn't quite make out her face, but her eyes… a warm chocolate color, there was no way he would be able to forget. He brought his claws up to his face, looking them over as he flexed them. She had only been an arm span's length away. He could have reached out and finally captured her but he woke up again. When he glanced over and realized that he had woken roughly an hour before he normally did, he let out a low, frustrated groan. There was no way he was going to be able to get actual sleep now that he had woken from such an intense dream. He could still feel the sweat on the back of his neck from where he had been chasing her. Well… chasing made him sound like an animal. He hadn't been chasing, per se, more like intensely running after her with the goal of… actually… what was his goal? When he was in that dream, all sense and logic seemed to be thrown out the door. All he knew was that he had to catch up with her. He had to get back what was his—and that happened to be her. He smirked a little, closing his eyes to try and picture her face when he had finally caught up to her. The face itself escaped him, but those eyes… filled with surprise, excitement and… his smirk widened. She had been relieved when he had finally caught her.

 _Of course she was. She's mine and I finally found her._ The smug thought of her finally giving in to him gave him a sense of pride. Still… he didn't even know who she was. He wanted to place a name to those eyes. He sighed a little and pulled himself out of his bed, resigning to the fact that sleep would not return and that his dream was merely that, a dream. Guilt creeped up the back of his neck slightly, knowing that he really shouldn't be fantasizing about capturing girls in dark forests. Especially because he… he sighed again and shook his head, throwing out that guilt and getting ready for the day. He glanced out the window before he headed downstairs, taking note that the full moon was going to be tomorrow.

"Mom, I'm leaving," he called, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. The shorter woman gracefully approached her son, smiling softly as she held her hand out, silently asking him to wait.

"Have a good day, my son," she bid, placing a hand on his cheek. Inuyasha flushed slightly and placed a hand over his mother's, nodding into it.

"Thanks mom. I'll see ya later," and with that, he turned and began his walk to school.

It was kind of nice to not be in such a rush to get there, which was why he was walking instead of taking his car. It left him alone with his thoughts, something he tried to not do very often. His mind kept wandering back to that dream, the one where he almost caught her, the one where she was finally within reach, the one where he saw those hypnotic eyes. He couldn't suppress the smirk even if he tried. This girl was so perfect in every way to him, and he hadn't even really seen her yet. It didn't matter about anything else really, just that she was his and he was going to finally capture her—no matter the cost.

* * *

It was the third day of school—a Friday—when Kagome's mother received a call from the doctor's office.

" _She's in bad shape. We aren't certain what is going on, but she is deteriorating much quicker. She's going to need a full-time or at least part-time assistant soon,_ " Kagome heard the doctor advise her mother. The older Higurashi woman was clearly distraught, her normally bright smile was replaced with a thin grimace. Kagome knew how close she had been with her sister before the illness had taken over, and she could tell that it was hurting her mother more than words could describe. Her mom thanked the doctor for his advice and warning and hung up, looking down at the phone. Kagome wondered if her mother was considering throwing it across the room.

"So… what did he say?" Kagome asked, having already heard the situation but wanting to hear it from her mom.

"Tsukimi isn't doing well. The doctor said she is going to need an assistant to help her," her mother sighed heavily, sitting on the couch with a slump. "But… she can't afford it and I certainly can't," she frowned, tears seeming to well up in her eyes.

Kagome frowned as well, moving to sit beside her mother to comfort her. She snaked her arm around her mother's shoulder and pulled her close, letting the woman cry a little in her embrace.

"I can't just let her wither away. She's my sister, I have to do something," her mother continued, her voice breaking slightly as she spoke.

"Maybe she can move in with us?" Kagome suggested, her tone light and gentle for her mother's sake.

"I've thought about that too, but I would be worried that she would wander off the property and get lost," she answered, shaking her head slightly. "We have woods around our house and the stairs would be a horrible fall."

"We could put up some fences, maybe try to safety-proof the place?"

"That might take months. We would have to build a ramp, put up fences, I'm not sure…" her mother thought aloud, but Kagome could tell that she was starting to think that the plan was a lot more possible than before.

"How about this? I can go stay with Aunt Tsukimi for a while—at least until we get the house fixed up for her—and I'll be her assistant," Kagome offered gently. Her mother looked up at her with surprised eyes.

"Kagome, are you sure about that? You just started your senior year at school—you might have to transfer to another school if we did this," her mother warned, looking at her daughter a little skeptically. Kagome gave her a warm smile and nodded.

"It's worth it. I can just transfer back when we're done—no big deal. It'll be like I never left," she replied with a chirp. Her mother threw her arms around her daughter.

"I would never ask this of you, but if it's really what you want to do, I'm so grateful," she thanked between quiet sobs.

"Of course I want to do this mom. We both love her."

Arrangements had to be made of course, but Kagome had resigned to tell her friends that she was going to be transferring to another school for a few months while they were getting their house ready for her aunt to live in.

" _Are you serious?! You literally_ _just_ _started senior year!"_ Eri exclaimed over the group skype call.

" _Don't be insensitive, Eri! It's not like Kagome_ _wants_ _to leave school. Her mother is obviously forcing her to do this,_ " Yuka scolded. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"I'm not being 'forced' to do anything. My aunt is having a really hard time and needs someone to watch over her. I volunteered," she corrected the both of them, shaking her head. "It's the right thing to do and besides, I love my aunt. Wouldn't you guys do the same if it were someone from your family?"

The other three girls seemed to accept this and nodded, shrugging a little. " _You're super selfless, Kagome. I think you care a lot more about people than most do,_ " Ayumi answered after a moment.

Kagome shrugged a little at that and smiled. "I'm really sorry again guys that we had to cancel girl's night. I just know that mom needs me here and having company over just wouldn't be a great idea," she apologized again. Her friends seemed to wave her off.

" _There will be other chances. It's fine,"_ Yuka assured her, shaking her head.

"Okay guys, I'll talk to you later,"and with that, Kagome said her goodbyes and shut down the chatroom. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, the glowing lights revealing it was about 9:30. She sighed a little, deciding it was best to just head to bed early.

As she laid down for the night, she wondered if everything was going to be okay with her aunt. She wondered if she was really going to be able to take care of her properly. She wasn't exactly medically-certified, so the only thing she would really be able to do would be to make sure that her aunt took her medicine, fed her, and helped her get dressed and ready day and night. The whole task seemed a lot more daunting now than it had before, but she remembered her mother's face at receiving the news. That kind of pain wasn't something that she ever wanted to see again. Besides, she reassured herself, it shouldn't be too hard, and it would only be for a few months until they moved her in with them. Plus, she could just do some online research about what caretakers need to do. She smiled softly as she drifted to sleep—it should be a breeze.

* * *

 _The chase._

 _It was always like this. So fast, so exciting._

 _Quick breaths, hurried panting, feet hitting the soft, damp earth._

 _It was coming for her again, she could tell._

 _It wanted her to keep running, but it also wanted to capture her._

 _Another turn._

 _Through the leaves._

 _Silver strands glistening in the moonlight._

 _A hedge._

 _Dead end._

" _ **Mine,**_ " _it growled with pleasure, stalking her._

 _Turn._

 _Gold eyes._

 _Silver hair._

 _A boyish face._

 _He reaches, ready for the capture._

" _ **Mate."**_

* * *

She shot up, coughing and panting and nearly falling off the bed with the force of her frenzy. Sweat rolled down her neck, evidence of the strenuous activity that obviously took place in her dream. Shoving the blankets off of her feverish body, she glared at the clock which showed the time was 11:50. She had only slept for two hours? She groaned, shoving the pillow to her face and yelling in it. It was really starting to get on her nerves that this stupid dream kept waking her up. Well…

 _It's mostly that I can't ever get to the good part of the dream that frustrates me,_ she admitted to herself, glancing at her cat which lazed in its bed across the room, giving her a few slow blinks. _Who_ _is_ _that boy? Why does he keep chasing me every night?_ She asked her cat silently. Buyo seemed uninterested, laying his head down as if to say: _Who cares? Go back to bed._

Kagome sighed and looked out her window into the night. The moon was at its fullest, shining brightly and illuminating the land below. She felt a pull towards it.

"I'm going on a walk, Buyo. I'll be back soon,"she announced in a whisper to her cat who only flicked his tail in response.

She rose up from her bed, putting some running clothes on and sneaking out of her house carefully. Her mom wouldn't really have cared to much if she were going on a little walk around the property, but she still wanted to be quiet so as to not wake her family up. When she got outside, she took a moment to look around and take a deep breath. Night air was so much cooler and nicer. She held her jacket closer to her body, protecting herself from the night-time chill as she began to wander the property. The woods were always a pleasant place to take a walk and she knew them like the back of her hand.

She didn't feel like she was really going in any particular direction, just wherever she decided to walk. She was about halfway through the walk when she heard a few twigs snapping.

She whipped her head around at the sound, worried that it might be some kind of vicious animal but sighing when she found that it was merely a frog. She laughed a little.

 _Always getting spooked over nothing._

She shook a finger at the frog, silently scolding the amphibian before shaking her head and looking up at the moon. Why was she even out here at this time of the night? She turned to go back home when she saw a pair of golden eyes stalking her from behind a tree not to far from where she was. She froze in place, eyes blown wide as she struggled not to scream. She watched as the eyes narrowed and seemed to come closer.

She bolted.

She ran as quickly as she could in the direction away from the creature, but also, she thought with worry, away from her house. She could hear the creature running after her, climbing through the trees and slashing through foliage. It was just like her dream, except this felt like more of a nightmare. Running as quickly as she could, she made ever twist and turn she could think of, trying to shake the creature off of her trail. It steadfastly followed, focused solely on capturing her.

 _Another turn._

 _Through the leaves._

 _Silver strands glistening in the moonlight._

 _A hedge._

 _Dead end._

" _ **Mine,"**_ _it growled with pleasure, stalking her._

 _Turn._

 _Gold eyes._

 _Silver hair._

 _A boyish face._

 _He reaches, ready for the capture._

" _ **Mate."**_

She blinked, her breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight.

It was a man, a young man, with long, silver hair. His golden eyes surrounded by a tinge of red. He was so beautiful in the moonlight. Everything about him called to her. He approached her loomingly, his body much larger than hers. His clawed hands raised, placing them on her shoulders before pulling her body to his. She remained stiff for only a moment before she sunk into him, wrapping her arms around him. It just felt so _right_. She could feel him sniffing her, heard him growl and groan for a moment before licking at the spot where her neck and shoulder met. She gasped as she felt his hot tongue rake over her skin and wanted to pull away but wanted to stay as well. He pulled back from her suddenly, his eyes blown out with some sort of emotion she couldn't understand before she saw fear in his eyes. And just like that, he was gone in the night.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Hey Guys! This is my first Inuyasha fic. I LOVE Inuyasha and have for years. It's definitely one of my favorite feel-good animes and I'm glad to be able to share it with you all. I made this fic primarily because all of the fics I've read about being soul-bonded to someone always ended up being Explicit or M-rated. I just wanted a wholesome, feel-good fic that you could read around your little brother or sister. That last part maybe not so much... but everything else should be pretty good! Please leave reviews and tell me what you like so I can keep doing it! Thanks guys!~~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Inuyasha couldn't run away fast enough. What had that all been about? What had caused him to wander across town to a random forest? He swallowed as he tore through the trees, trying to shove down that heavy weight in his gut that urged him to go back to the girl from his dreams. It had taken everything he had to pull himself away from her. He had been so caught up in his instincts and in the smell of her that he hadn't been thinking about what he was doing exactly. When he had finally realized what was going on… he had to leave.

 _Damn… what is going on with me_? He cursed silently, trying to shake off the memory of holding her close against his body, loving the way the two seemed to fit so perfectly together. Or the way she smelled… so amazing and warm. Everything about her called to him, and it scared him more than anything he had ever felt in his life. He was certainly not one to ever admit that he was fearful of something but… this weird attraction to someone he had never met was absolutely at the top of the short list of things he was afraid of. The way his mind threw all common sense out the window the moment he had caught a whiff of her scent floating in the wind was… disturbing. Something had pulled him out of his house and in this direction but the moment he smelled her on the wind… he shot out like there was nothing else in the world. Finding her was the only thing that really mattered, and it was always going to be the only thing that—

He halted his thoughts, shaking them off like water as he jumped into his room from the window. As his feet landed in a soft thud on the hardwood floor, he hurried to his bathroom and took a good look at himself in the mirror. What he saw was a little disturbing.

Before him was some kind of wild version of himself. His ears were high up and alert, flicking around wildly, checking for any and all sounds that might be nearby. His hair was disheveled and full of stray twigs and leaves that he had managed to catch in his hair while he was absconding. His pupils were blown wide, his face red and feverish as though he were sick. He brought a clawed hand up, rubbing at his face and bringing back sweat. He blinked and furrowed his brows, eyes wide in surprise. He normally didn't sweat after running, he just didn't get tired from something like that. No… something was wrong with him… very wrong.

After trying fruitlessly to cool himself down by taking a cold shower, he climbed into his large bed and attempted to try to fall asleep again. It was just a few minutes after midnight, but he couldn't shake the restless feeling that he had to go back out. He had to venture back into those woods once again and find that girl. She was his. She was out there without him and she was unprotected. He shook his head at that and frowned, crossing his arms over his chest in a huff of frustration and forced himself to close his eyes. Tomorrow was Saturday, so it wasn't like he needed to get up early anyways. If it took him all night to fall back asleep, so be it.

Still… he couldn't erase from his memory the beautiful face that looked up at him like he was the most wondrous thing in the world.

* * *

That Saturday morning, he fumbled to get out of bed and somehow managed to make his way down the stairs to the kitchen where he found breakfast already on the table. He sat at a chair and gave the plate in front of him a sniff. It had been sitting for a few hours now. He grunted at that and plucked the plate from the table and set it in the microwave to heat it up. As he waited, his mother walked in.

"Good morning, my son," she greeted, smiling at him happily before moving over to the sink to do some of the dishes. Inuyasha snorted in reply.

"What's so great about it?" He had never been a morning person, nor had he ever considered himself to be particularly helpful, but he'd be damned if he ever let his sweet mother do the dishes while he was there. He moved to take her spot, gently easing her away from the sink and stepping in front of it to take over.

"You sound as though you had a rough night. Is everything okay, Inuyasha?" his mother prodded, looking at her son with a mix of gratitude and slight concern. He wasn't really one to just start being helpful like this.

He scoffed a little at her. "Of course I'm alright. I just had a hard time sleepin' with all that racket outside last night. Neighbors were blarin' music again and it was annoying," he answered, partially telling the truth. That really had been the case. The original plan had been to go out in order to cut off their electricity or something but then he had felt that pull and…

"Hm," he heard his mother hum before placing a hand to his forehead under the thickness of his bangs. She placed the back of her hand to his cheeks as well and frowned slightly in concern.

"What was that for?" he pulled away, looking at his mother like she had grown a second head.

"You're a bit feverish. Are you sure you feel alright? Maybe we should take you to a doctor," his mother fussed, moving away to go get the landline they still used for whatever reason. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, knowing his mother wasn't going to let it go if he didn't say something.

"I think it might just be a cold or something. Do you think you could make some soup for me?" he asked, knowing that his mother loved being able to dote on him and that suggesting something like this would take her mind off of calling a doctor. He rarely ever got sick, so he only hoped that this wasn't an actual sickness and that it was just leftover excitement and fatigue from last night.

As expected, his mother put down the landline and nodded her head quickly, pulling an apron down and getting to work preparing a soup for her son.

While she worked, Inuyasha decided to finish the dishes and munch a little on the food he had put in the microwave before heading back upstairs. On his way up, he passed by his father who, after taking a good look at his son, pulled him into his office for a moment. The older man looked at his son with a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Care to explain where you went last night?" he asked quietly, knowing that if his wife found out, she would be extremely concerned.

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck, the memory of last night coming back to the surface.

"I went out to cut the electricity to the neighbor's house," he answered truthfully, knowing that if he lied, his father would be able to tell. Inu no Taisho narrowed his eyes at his son for a moment.

"And yet, they still have power. Did you have a change of heart?" he asked, his quirked eyebrow challenging his son to slip up.

"C'mon dad, I wasn't doin' nothing bad. Give it a rest, will ya?" he asked, too tired to really fight. He was exhausted from being on edge all night and the interrogation game his father was trying to play wasn't really something that he was in the mood to deal with. His father seemed to consider letting it go for a moment but apparently wasn't mollified.

"Were you with her again?" he asked quietly, but with an underlying forcefulness that Inuyasha knew was from ongoing frustration. The younger dog demon bristled at the question, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't. It's none of your business," he answered instead, not caring to tell the truth. Who he hung out with in his spare time was none of his father's concern.

Inu no Taisho's expression went grim and he narrowed his eyes at his son in warning. He had a great deal of patience, but disrespect was the quickest way to make his temper flare.

"As your father, yes, it is. She isn't your intended. You would have already known by now if she was," he pressed, reminding his son of a fact that he expressed to Inuyasha at least three times a week. The half-demon rolled his eyes, shrugging off the comment that he knew was said to provoke him.

"Think what you want. I'm only half demon, so who's to say I'll even have an intended? I'm going to my room now," he answered as he moved to leave. His father's expression was one of confusion. Inuyasha was acting quietly strangely. Usually, that sort of comment would've had him and his son arguing for hours, but instead, the boy had just shrugged it off and dropped it.

When Inuyasha finally managed to get to his room without being harassed, he quickly laid down in his bed and looked up at the ceiling. He felt his own forehead and knew that there definitely was something going on with him. The nagging feeling of needing to see that girl from last night just wouldn't leave him alone. It was pestering him like an itch, annoying and ever-present. He had to go see her. He had to know what she was doing, what she was thinking about. Was she thinking about him as much as he was thinking about her? He sighed heavily.

Guilt crept up his neck again. He definitely wasn't going to tell her about all of this. He frowned at the thought. What kind of guy was he if he was just going to start going to the woods all the time to see some weird chick from his dreams and chase her around like some sort of stalker? Kikyo didn't deserve that. He couldn't bring himself to check his phone which he was certain had several messages on there from her already. It wasn't like him to not text her when he woke up, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to. It felt wrong. He had been dating Kikyo for about a year and for him to do what he did last night… it was the worst betrayal. Inuyasha had to swallow back the vomit he felt in his throat. Was he really this repulsive? Wait. No, that was real vomit.

He got out of bed and ran to the bathroom, releasing the contents of his stomach in the toilet bowl as soon as he arrived. As he heaved, he wondered in the back of his mind if this had something to do with what had happened last night. He hadn't done anything that would have lent him to getting sick, just licking someone didn't make you sick, right? He wiped saliva from his lips and rose shakily, hearing his mother enter the room. She approached his bathroom, knocking on the door which he had somehow managed to close in all the hurry he had been in.

"Son? Are you okay in there? I thought I heard you throwing up? Are you sure we don't need to take you to the doctor?" she called to him through the door. Inuyasha flushed the toilet and looked at himself in the mirror, taking note of the redness on his face and the darkness under his eyes. He looked awful.

"Maybe…" he muttered quietly, deciding to stay in the bathroom until his mother left. "I'll be okay. It was probably just something I ate," he called back to her, deciding to not make her worry.

What in the world is happening to me?

* * *

Light fell upon Kagome's face, the gentle rays from the sun stirring her from where she slept. She hadn't had a dream that night for the first time in several days. Then again…

 _I really haven't slept at all_ … she admitted grumpily to herself. With a squeal of frustration, she threw one of her pillows across the room.

"This is so annoying!" she exclaimed, not caring that she had several family members who might still be asleep. Buyo hissed at her, as the pillow had only narrowly missed his head, and got up to leave.

Kagome fell back in her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Last night…

After the encounter with that… boy… she found herself completely alone in the darkness of the woods. Only the moon kept her company as her heated skin burned against the coolness of the night. He had been there and suddenly… he just wasn't. They had been so caught up in one another, she thought, and it didn't make sense for him to chase her as long as he did only to run away after… licking her.

The memory of his tongue on her neck make her face flush with embarrassment. He had seemed so wild and feral… was he even really human? No, there was no possible way he could have been human. She had seen the little ears atop his head. Unless he was a furry or something… But then there was the whole monkey man thing where he was jumping from tree to tree, so surely he wasn't entirely human? Ultimately, she supposed, it didn't really matter because whatever it was that had happened last night, was over. After she had managed to get back home and in the safety of her own bed, he merely became a dream.

She sat up, a determined look upon her face.

She had so many other things to worry about that were far more important than this strange encounter from last night. There was school, and work, and… she thought glumly, her aunt was starting to fade. With a resolve only she could manifest, Kagome rose from her bed and decided that she wouldn't think about the boy with the silver hair and golden eyes. He wasn't real and there were so many other far more pressing things she needed to worry about.

Still… the way he had called her "mate" had sent so many shivers up her spine… she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to forget him completely…

She had a mission—find as many supplies that a caregiver would need. She had done a little bit of research and realized that their house was actually in decent shape. They had already installed a few grip bars in the bathroom and had recently installed a chair for the stairs for her grandpa, but she knew that she still needed a few boxes in order to keep important documents in and probably a few more non-slip bath mats for the shower. As she jotted down a list on the notepad beside her computer, she wondered what her new school was going to be like.

 _Well, I'm already doing research, might as well check out my new school._

It was actually a pretty nice school. Plenty of breaks, a loose homework policy, and a strict zero-tolerance policy—all things she felt would be useful to make a school good. She yawned, stretching her arms up. Looking at this school was kind of boring, so she decided to leave it alone and come back to it later after she had eaten something.

She had a big day full of shopping and preparing for her aunt to move in.

* * *

When she got to the kitchen, she found her mother relaxing in one of the chairs, sipping tea and looking outside at the sunny day.

"Oh, good morning, Kagome. You slept in a little today, did you not sleep well?" she asked, giving her daughter a welcoming smile. Kagome smiled back and shook her head.

"I just decided that I needed the extra few hours of sleep. How are you feeling this morning, mom?" she asked, knowing that the other day had been hard for her.

Her mother nodded, placing her cup down on the table.

"I'm feeling much better. Thank you so much Kagome, for doing this for me. You would only have to watch over her when I leave for work in the evenings," the older Higurashi explained to her daughter.

"Work?" Kagome asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"The kind of care and medicine that Tsukimi is going to need is likely to be expensive. It's just something that should help us make things more comfortable for her. Dad is going to be running the shrine full-time so that I can make this happen," she answered, smiling a little. "Besides," she continued, "it might be fun to have something to do other than shelving dusty mermaid scales."

The two shared a few laughs at that, knowing how ridiculous some of the items her grandfather had deemed "priceless" were.

"Good luck, mom. I'm going out to grab some supplies, do you need anything?" she asked, poking at her cold eggs.

Her mother nodded a little and handed her daughter a small list of various vegetables and foods that they would be needing when her aunt moved in. After breakfast, Kagome thanked her mother and left for the store.

Once she arrived, Kagome looked around for the items she needed, wondering if she was going overboard with the whole idea of being a caretaker. Maybe it was a lot easier than she thought? Maybe it was just like babysitting but for adults? She continued down the aisle for soups, looking over the best broth to get. Her mom hadn't been all that specific, so she had to decide price over taste. Unfortunately, this level of thought didn't require much brain power, and so, her thoughts wondered off into that dreamland that she had decided to forget about.

 _Those hands_ … she thought, remembering the way they had held her close. It felt like he had been cherishing her, like she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. She sighed happily as she looked down at the soup, the label's smiling face looking up at her with a cheeky grin. She couldn't remember the last time that a boy had held her so closely, if one ever had. As she placed the can in the cart, she heard a soft laugh come from nearby. She glanced over and blushed when she realized that a woman had been watching her fondly examine the can of soup. It probably looked a little strange. Kagome coughed and tried to hide her embarrassment, but the woman seemed to stop her.

"I didn't mean to laugh. I was just wishing that I could be that happy when I was shopping for soup," the woman assured her with a playful smile. Kagome blushed harder at that, remembering just what she had been thinking about, and waved the lady off.

"I'm just off in La La Land today, I'm sorry if I was in your way," she apologized, moving out of the woman's way.

"No no, you're fine. I'm in no rush. I'm just browsing for soup for my son. He's home sick today, so I figured that I would go ahead and prepare for a few days of this," the woman explained, deciding to make pleasant conversation. Kagome was friendly by nature, so she couldn't help herself when she decided to continue the conversation.

"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. My mother always makes chicken noodle for me, but vegetable soup is good too," she suggested, pointing at the cans as she spoke. The woman seemed to nod her head.

"He's not very picky, but he can't stand vegetables…"

They continued to chatter for a bit, talking a little about their lives and how things were going. As the conversation progressed, the lady asked Kagome where she went to school. Deciding that this woman wasn't going to do anything weird with that information, she told her the name. She watched the lady's eyes light up in excitement.

"Oh, you are? That's where my sweet son goes! Perhaps you'll meet him?" she exclaimed quietly, not wanting to cause a disturbance but also not able to contain the excitement. Kagome smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe. What year is he?"

"He's a senior this year," she answered. Kagome's grin widened.

"Then I'll be on the lookout for him. What's his name?" she asked, figuring that she most likely wasn't going to encounter the boy, considering the size of the school, but asked anyway to be polite.

"Inuyasha."

* * *

With a frustrated huff, Inuyasha picked up another tissue and blew his nose into it, glaring at the dog-shaped humidifier that his mother had placed in his room. Somewhere along the way, whatever it was that he started with, had definitely turned into some kind of cold, and for some reason, it was beating him up. His eyes itched and burned when he opened them, making him wish that he could put some more eye drops in. He felt like total crap. Thankfully, he knew that whatever this was, wasn't going to last too long. Any colds that he had had normally were gone by the next morning. When his mother came in with a large bowl of soup, he gave her a soft smile and sat up slightly. His muscles were sore, which made the action a little more painful than he had been expecting.

"My poor son. I brought you some soup, how are you feeling?" she asked, moving to sit beside her son. Inuyasha frowned a little, meekly extending his hands to accept the bowl and try to shoo his mother away.

"Crappy. Go away, I don't want you to catch it," he croaked, knowing that his mother was prone to sickness. She pulled a blue medical mask and pulled the white straps over her ears, winking at her son. He grumbled, his ears flattening to his head as he tentatively took a sip.

"I'm sorry that you are feeling so bad, dear. Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked, moving to feel his forehead again. He was burning up, that much he knew, but he still wanted the thick blankets that covered him to stay. When his mother sighed and shook her head, he clung to the blankets with one hand, narrowing his eyes at her. "Inuyasha, you can't stay in bed with these, we need to lower your fever," she explained, pulling on the blanket he clung to.

He huffed at her and stuck his tongue out in protest. "No. Mine."

His weak was grip, however, and she was easily able to pull it away from him, eliciting an angry groan and pouty face. She watched him shiver and frowned, knowing he needed medicine and a doctor. Unfortunately, just like his father, Inuyasha outrightly refused and insisted that he would be fine in the morning.

"Will you at least take some fever reducing medicine?" she asked gently, keeping the mountain of blankets in her arms. She heard him grunt but because it wasn't a no, she hurried out of the room to retrieve some.

As he sat there, shivering and sipping on his soup, his fever made him think about that girl from last night. He sighed happily, thinking about the way she had smelled so amazing to him and how much he wanted to smell her again. He wanted to hold her and rub his face against hers and tell her how perfect she was. His eyes drooped, ears cocking in lopsided directions. He could almost feel her again, smiling and inviting him to hold her like the little angel she was. Looking down in the soup, he sighed happily, licking his dry lips in thought.

"Goodness. Everyone seems to be having the most amazing memories about soup. Surely, I'm missing out," he heard his mother comment with a small laugh as she handed him a glass of water and two little white pills. He took them and looked at her with a confused expression, blinking slowly. Mostly lost in his fever dream, he seemed to be confused about pretty much everything going on. His mother seemed to understand his confusion.

"There was this girl I met at the grocery store in town today. She was sighing at a can of soup just like you were and I just thought it was so funny that you two did the exact same thing with the exact same expression," she chuckled before seeming to remember something. "Oh! Yes, that reminds me. This girl I met, she is going to your school now. Apparently, she was having some family issues and is moving out to our side of town for a while. She's a senior too, so I told her to look for you," she explained with a smile. "It's about time you make some new friends, and I think she's a real catch."

Inuyasha blinked blearily at his mother, eyes half-lidded. His mother met a girl that went to his school? "What's her name?" he asked, mostly for his mother's sake. He didn't really need any new friends, but he loved his mother and how much she cared about him, so he humored her.

"Kagome. She's really quite wonderful. If you see her, make sure to invite her to dinner," she chatted softly, watching as her son began to fall asleep into his fever dream.

"Kagome," he mumbled, closing his heavy eyes and sighing with a cough. "Nice name," he whispered before falling into the welcoming darkness of sleep.

* * *

"Can you tell us what's wrong with him, doctor?" Izayoi asked the man, frowning slightly as the doctor looked over her son's sleeping body. Those he was unconscious, he was restless, and kept squirming in discomfort as the doctor tried to look him over.

"Well, all the symptoms he's showing lead me to think of two possible outcomes. It's either dog flu or bond fever," he answered, pulling his stethoscope away from Inuyasha's chest and draping his around his neck. Izayoi frowned.

"I don't understand. Why would it be dog flu?" she asked, looking at her son with a bit of disbelief.

"Inu-yokai don't typically get sick with human ailments. Dog flu can actually be quite common if he spends a decent amount of time around dog shelters or wild dogs," the doctor responded, looking down at the sleeping boy with a bit of curiosity.

"And if he has bond fever?"

"Well, it would mean that he has met the person he is soul-linked to. Because he isn't being around them right now, his body is, to explain it more simply, 'freaking out'. It thinks it needs to change in order to bring back his bonded. Since your son is a half-demon, his body can't handle the change his demon blood is trying to initiate. His sickly symptoms should be fine by tomorrow, but you'll see his disposition change slightly for a short time until he finally returns to his bonded," the doctor explained coolly, trying to make it easier for Izayoi to understand. The mother seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding.

"Thank you so much doctor. But what if he is unable to find her again?" she asked, a slight frown on her features. The doctor quirked a grin.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Demons always seem to find a way back to their bonded…" he explained, picking up his suitcase and moving to leave the room before pausing for a moment. "… even if they hate each other."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He wasn't sure what he was thinking but answering the phone when he heard it ringing was quite possibly one of the worst decisions of his life.

" _Inuyasha. Why haven't you been answering me? Are you okay?"_ he heard Kikyo ask. She never raised her voice, but the twinge of annoyance that laced her question was evidence enough that he should've texted her or called her sooner. He sniffled, patting his runny nose with a tissue.

"I'm fine. Sorry, I've been holed up in my room all day. Just a cold," he answered, his voice hoarse, but better than it had been yesterday. He was feeling mostly better, but his mother had insisted that he stay in bed and rest the remaining symptoms off. Apparently, a doctor had come to see him at some point, but his mother hadn't told him what the doctor had said, so he figured it wasn't that important. He heard Kikyo sigh irritably.

"You could have said something. Ignoring me should not have even been an option," she scolded him coolly, her voice even though she was obviously upset. "Would you like for me to come over?"

His initial reaction was to say yes but the words seemed to die in his throat. Seeing her would mean that he would have to face the face that he betrayed. He swallowed back his guilt, deciding to not think about it for the moment.

"It's fine. I don't want you to catch it. I'll just see you tomorrow," he answered, his ears flattening when he heard her sigh in annoyance again.

"Very well. Enjoy your Sunday, Inuyasha. I love you," she bid him, apparently done with the conversation. It was so strange to him how her words and her inflection always seemed to contradict one another.

"Love you too," he parroted before listening to the phone line go dead. He was left with his thoughts.

 _At least she called_ , he tried to assure himself. _She didn't have to._ He and Kikyo had been shaky for a few months now. She was frustrated that Inuyasha wasn't willing to take things further with her like plan for their future or make any commitments to going to the same college after high school but… he couldn't bring himself to do it. Every time he wanted to go and start planning their future, he just felt gross and wrong. It was like he knew subconsciously that they weren't going to have a future…

He growled a little at himself, scolding his thoughts for sounding like his dad. He could totally have a future with her if he wanted. She was everything he could ever hope for. Beautiful, talented, well-liked, thoughtful—just everything he could want in a girl. He swallowed uneasily. Honestly, he was lucky to have someone like her. Half-demons often were looked down upon, seen as lesser beings for not being completely one or the other. Kikyo had found something in him that she loved, and he had been so grateful to have her.

 _I_ _am_ _so grateful to have her…_ he corrected himself, sighing as his mind already began thinking about life without her. He knew it was only a matter of time before she decided that she didn't want to be stuck with him anymore and ran off. Depressing thoughts fluttered around his head before his inner yokai brushed against his senses.

 _ **That girl is unnecessary. We have**_ _ **her**_ _ **now,**_ the beast within him growled with pleasure, creating a devious smirk to widen across his features. He closed his eyes, drinking in the feeling. It wasn't often that he was able to feel so powerful. _**We must find**_ _ **her**_ _ **again,**_ the demon chided, looming in his head and caressing his thoughts.

 _Who?_ He asked himself, somewhat in a daze.

 _ **Our mate.**_

* * *

"Buyo, you're looking especially lazy today," Kagome complimented her cat, trying to entice him with a cat toy. The feline merely blinked at her, obviously uninterested in the goods that she was trying to draw him into. She laughed a little when he turned the opposite direction and leaned against her bed, smiling to herself. How easy the life of a cat was.

She had spent most of her Sunday getting moved into her aunt's home out in the countryside. The poor woman had mainly slept through the whole thing, having only been awake long enough to offer her some tea before needing to lie down. Her aunt's house was actually rather spacious, and Kagome wondered why she was having financial problems with such a large house. Maybe it was because the house was so big that it was causing money issues? Ultimately, it didn't matter, but Kagome could see why Aunt Tsukimi was needing help. The house wasn't built with sickly people like her aunt in mind. The floorboards were uneven and creaked when you walked on them. The stairs were steep and rickety and there was a terrible draft flowing through the house. This wouldn't be a problem for now while it was still warm, but in the winter… Kagome didn't even want to think about how cold it must get for her.

Kagome had decided to bring Buyo with her for company when her Aunt was sleeping or disconnecting. She read somewhere that animals were good for sickly people. The Wi-Fi in her aunt's home was terrible and spotty at best, so she knew that if she was going to be able to get homework done, they were going to have to call an internet service or she was going to have to find some public place with Wi-Fi.

It was quite strange how strangely content she was starting to feel in the rickety old farm house. Upstairs, in a sort of loft-type room, Kagome had a skylight, giving her a perfect view of the moon full above her head. Well, not entirely full. It was beginning to wane. The stars looked so much brighter and vibrant out in the countryside. She smiled a little, reaching a hand up to grab hold of the moon. She used to dream about chasing the moon, following it as it orbited around the Earth. It was always so far out of reach, no matter how close it seemed to be.

A green light glowed gently in the darkness of the room, showing that the time was only 9. She sighed, the night felt so much later.

She felt restless. The pull in her gut was so strange and strong. She needed to go outside but she was already ready for bed and had helped her aunt to sleep. It would be dangerous to just leave the house while her aunt was asleep with no one to watch over her and protect her.

 _She's been living by herself for years, a little walk won't kill her…_

The young Higurashi woman somehow managed to practice self-restraint and forced herself to fall asleep, not allowing herself to become some sort of wild girl who goes out in the middle of the night looking to get chased around by some animal guy. She laughed a little at that and closed her eyes, allowing herself to fall asleep dreaming of him.

* * *

"Sweetheart," Inuyasha heard his mother call to him from behind his bedroom door. He answered her call and watched as not only his mother walked in, but his father as well. Inuyasha blinked and tilted his head in confusion at them. His face was still flushed and his nose a little runny, but he was definitely feeling much better. He had been laying down in bed, thinking about going on a run when they had walked in.

"Huh? What's up with this? Am I in trouble? Did you guys look at my grades?" he asked, teasing his parents a little as he leaned back against his headboard. His mother held onto his father's arm, the man regarding his son with an expression he rarely saw—anticipation. Inuyasha groaned, this couldn't possibly be a good thing. "Good god, guys, I've already had 'the talk', there's nothin you can tell me that I don't already know," he grumbled, knowing that that probably wasn't what they were going to talk about.

Inu no Taisho gave his son a look and rolled his eyes.

"Enough of that. We wanted talk about what the doctor told us," he began, looking at Inuyasha and holding a book in his other hand. The younger dog demon raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?" he asked, tilting his head at his dad. "Why are you guys actin' so weird?"

His mother took a step forward, sitting on the end of her son's bed and looking at Inuyasha with a smile.

"Do you remember when Sesshomaru moved out?" she asked, looking at her son expectantly. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his mother, getting an idea of where this conversation was going.

"Listen, if you guys are tryin' to kick me out, you're gunna have to wait until I at least finish high school," he cut her off, giving his father a glare. They exchanged a look and turned back to Iunyasha with confused expressions.

"You think we kicked him out? I would never thrown my son out," Izayoi protested. Her husband nodded.

"Sesshomaru would never have had to be thrown out. He always preferred independence," Inu no Taisho added before shaking his head. "Wait, stop, that's off-topic. What we were saying was that he moved out because he wanted to move in with his mate."

Shivers went up Inuyasha's spine, fear crippling him. He hated talking about that stupid mate bond thing. The entire idea of being forced to like someone because it was predestined made him feel sick to his stomach. It cheapened love and made it seem more like a step in a check-list.

"Gross. I don't wanna talk about that prick's love life," he halted his father, holding a hand up and shaking his head. "I just got better, I really don't wanna get sick again."

His mother laughed softly at the way her husband bristled and placed a hand on his, encouraging Inu no Taisho to get through it.

"The doctor said that you have bond fever," his father stated simply, deciding to get to the point already because he wasn't certain how much more of his difficult son he was willing to handle. Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"I… what? What's that?" he asked, stammering a little in confusion.

"Well, the doctor said that you must have met your mate-to-be recently and the separation is making your body change. Since you're half-human, your demon blood can't exactly change anything about you, so it's making you sick," his mother explained gently, being reassuring for her son. Inuyasha nodded in understanding, seeming to be calm as his mother spoke.

"So… I met my mate? Am I going to get sicker? What's going to happen?" he asked, a little concerned about the idea of having some weird sickness that only half-demons really get. His mother waved him off, shaking her head.

"Apparently you met your mate sometime on Friday and no, it shouldn't get worse. You'll probably continue to run a slight fever until you see her again, but for now, it looks as though you'll just keep going on doing what you're doing. The doctor told me that demons always end up finding their mates," she answered her son, trying to calm his worries. Of course, she had no idea what her words were really doing to him.

"When I was looking for your mother, I was already married. Obviously, it wasn't planned, but things always seem to work themselves out," his father added, smiling down at his wife fondly. Inuyasha knew that story already—he had heard it hundreds of times—but for some reason, he was starting to see the parallels between what his father went through and what he was starting to go through.

"I don't even know who she is, how could I have met her already?" he challenged, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, have you met any new girls recently that you felt really attracted to in more than just a physical sense?" his father asked, looking down at his son with an arched eyebrow.

Inuyasha blushed, looking away from the gaze of his father. This whole situation was getting way too awkward for him.

"I don't wanna talk about any of that gushy stuff," he warned, picking up a pillow and silently threatening to throw it at his parents. His father laughed a little and sighed.

"Very well. Should you wish to learn more about the mating bond, I'll leave this book for you in here," his father relented, understanding how uncomfortable it might be for his son. He turned to leave with his wife, offering his arm to her as they made their way out. He smiled a little to himself, knowing that his son was curious enough that he would definitely read the book. He might even eventually bring himself to come to him and ask questions. Until then, he wouldn't bother to bring it up again.

When they were finally gone, Inuyasha gave the book on his nightstand a sideways glance. He growled at it a little and rolled his eyes, turning off the light. He had a suspicion that the girl from his dreams that he met in the forest was his mate. His inner yokai steamed and heated at that, setting the inside of his chest ablaze. Something about her was just so great. His eyes widened when he finally put two and two together. She was great to him because of the bond! Maybe she wasn't actually all that great? Maybe it was because of this stupid bond that it made him _think_ that she was great and amazing and everything he could ever want in a person. His demon howled in defiance at that, protesting such heinous thoughts.

Inuyasha snorted in disbelief. He should have known that all the feelings he had been having were brought on by that stupid bond. They weren't really his. If anything, they were getting in the way of his _true_ future—the one with Kikyo. Now that he knew what the girl looked like, all he had to do was avoid her.

* * *

On her way to school, Kagome texted her mother, letting her know that Aunt Tsukimi was still asleep, but breakfast was waiting in the microwave for her. As she rode her bike, she looked down at her uniform, a red skirt and white blouse, and wondered how she had ever managed to get transferred so quickly. She knew that these sorts of things normally took a long time, but the school seemed eager to bring her in and told her that although she wouldn't technically be in the system until next week, she was free to go ahead and attend classes.

 _Maybe they just don't have very many students in their classes or something?_ She suggested to herself, not really thinking to much of it, and mostly just grateful that things were able to work out the way that they did.

On her way there, she was alerted to the sound of a fast-moving car and then felt a wave of wet, dirty puddle spray all over her. She nearly fell off her bike as it sprayed her and flipped off the car going so fast in a school zone. Though they were in the more industrial part of the countryside, there was still no excuse to blaze through the traffic like a crazy person.

"Ugh! Are you kidding me? On my first day of school?" she protested angrily, looking down at her ruined blouse. Luckily, she had been wearing a light overcoat, so the dirt mostly got on her jacket. Unfortunately, that didn't keep the smell off. She would have to borrow some clothes from the office—if they had any.

Once she finally managed to trudge up to the campus, she was impressed by the magnitude of it. It wasn't monstrous, but it was definitely bigger than she had been anticipating from such a small town. She watched as students filed in, chatting and buzzing about the new school day. Of course, they probably weren't happy about it being a new school day, but the excitement still seemed to be fresh.

She took a few steps up the stairs to the entrance of the school, getting a few curious looks as she did so. Maybe this wasn't the normal entrance? She shrugged inwardly at the thought. The principal had advised her to stop by the office first to get her schedule and a map of the school. The inside of the school was just like any other, though it was a little different in that the lights seemed to be fires that were gas-powered. She frowned a little at that. Hopefully it wasn't breaking some kind of fire-code. She took her eyes off of the lanterns and scanned for signs that pointed to the office. Thankfully, it was fairly close by, so she was able to make it there with little to no difficulty.

There were a few students inside, sitting on chairs and looking clearly annoyed or bored or both. When she entered the room, they looked at her curiously- interested in the new girl, she presumed. She approached the front desk and was greeted by a slender lady with beautiful features. The woman looked up at Kagome, over her glasses, and looked back down at her computer.

"How may I help you?" she asked, seemingly typing away with disinterest. Kagome wasn't put off by it too much, as many school receptionists that she had met in the past carried themselves in quite a similar way.

"I'm the new transfer student—"

"Kagome Higurashi," she was cut off by a tall, slender woman with flowing white hair. The woman seemed to hold an air of important about her and it both intrigued and enticed Kagome. She found herself sitting up a little straighter, pulling hair back hair behind her ears and trying harder to make eye contact. When the woman approached Kagome, she held a hand out in greeting. "I am Principal Meido. Welcome to Rumiko Prep. We are so pleased to have you with us."

Kagome blinked and accepted her hand, surprised by the friendliness of the principal. Normally, school leaders had the bad habit of making their students feel like they _had_ to like their principal by trying to "relate" with them. Obviously, this principal had other plans. Kagome bowed respectfully and introduced herself.

"I'm so grateful to be here on such short notice. Really, it was so kind of you to accept me," she thanked, smiling brightly at the principal. She watched as the woman nodded her head in understanding.

"It was really no problem at all. We've been needing more students like you, Miss Higurashi," Principal Meido smiled back softly. "As part of our Inclusion initiative, we've been desperately trying to branch out and become a more diverse school," she explained, handing Kagome a folder as she invited the girl into her office.

"Oh, well, thank you?" Kagome stammered, uncertain how she was all that diverse. She was actually quite ordinary, particularly compared to other students she knew. However, if her being 'diverse' was what was allowing her to continue going to this school, she wasn't about to correct the tall businesswoman standing in front of her.

"No, thank _you_ ," the woman corrected, pressing a button on the intercom. " _Please send the senior class escort to my office to accompany the new transfer_ ," she instructed, looking down at an envelope on her desk and opening it.

Kagome looked down at her own folder and caught a glimpse of the dirty clothes that she still wore, her face flushing with embarrassment. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare uniform around here, would you?"

The principal nodded and called for a new uniform to be brought into the office as well, looking at Kagome with a smile.

"Now… there is something I wanted to ask you about. Have you done any research on our school yet?" she asked, looking at Kagome seriously. The teen blinked at how quick the atmosphere had changed and sheepishly shook her head.

"I haven't been able to as much as I would have liked. Aunt Tsukimi's doesn't exactly get very good Wi-Fi," she responded, rubbing the back of her neck.

The woman seemed to frown a little at that but shook her head, as though brushing the sentiment off.

"It's quite alright. Well, this is a very _special_ school. I'm certain you know of the demon community?" she asked, though her tone seemed to insist that it was more of a statement than anything. Kagome nodded, though she would have to admit that she knew very little about them. The demon community seemed to appreciate isolation, preferring to commune only with other demons and live only in their demon neighborhoods. She had met maybe a handful of demons in her life. At least, from what she could remember.

"Yes, well, this area happens to be in one such community. Many demon families send their young here to get an excellent education and to feel free to be themselves. Unfortunately, I've noticed that when demons do not interact with humans at this sensitive age, they do not develop the skills necessary to function around humans later in life. Obviously, this only solidifies the dichotomy between the human and demon worlds—something this school is strongly against," she explained, looking at Kagome seriously. "Your escort will help get you accompanied to life here at school and will be your constant companion for the short duration of time you plan to spend here," the principal explained just before a tall student walked in. The most notable thing about her was that she had this huge ponytail that fell down her back almost gracefully. The girl bowed to the principal before giving Kagome a small wave.

"Principal Meido, you asked for me?"

The woman eased back from Kagome, her expression becoming a cool smile again and nodded. "This is Kagome Higurashi, our newest Outreach student. Kagome, this is Sango Hirai, our Outreach Escort for the senior class. You are in good hands, Miss Higurashi," the principal assured the girl before looking at Sango. "I gave her the folder that she needs with her schedule and other paperwork. Could you please show her to class?"

Sango nodded and bowed dutifully before looking to Kagome. "Let's head on out, Kagome."

"So, are you a human or a demon?" Kagome asked her escort after changing in the girl's bathroom. She had heard that demons could take extremely convincing human forms when they wanted. The girl seemed to laugh at that.

"I'm human. I'm actually from the test group that they originally did a couple years ago when they started the Outreach Initiative," she explained, looking over at Kagome with a smile. This Sango chick was definitely an easy-going kind of person— this was undoubtedly how she had been able to survive in a school full of demons for so long.

"Do you like it here?" she asked, figuring that Sango was probably under some kind of contract to say yes, but had to ask anyways to make conversation. To her surprise, the girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Actually, it can be a real pain. High school in general is hard enough, throw in some territorial demons and you've got yourself a living nightmare," she laughed nudging Kagome playfully.

"Really? Why did you stay, then?"

"Oh?" Sango thought about it for a moment. "Well, it's not bad _all_ the time. Plus, it's the school closest to my home, so it's just easier," she answered with a shrug. "Besides, I've been raised around demons for most of my life. My family a long time ago used to be demon slayers, so we have a lot of ties to many demon families in the area."

Kagome's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. She had sort of been hoping that Sango was in a similar situation and had never been around demons before either _. However_ , she thought, _maybe it's good that Sango has so many ties, she can help me know who to watch out for._

She blinked, a thought coming to her head. The encounter back at the store.

"Oh, I know this is a little random, but I ran into a woman the other day who said her son goes here. His name was Inu-something or other?" she asked. To her surprise, Sango seemed to snort at that.

"Yeah, he goes here. Unfortunately, he's a good friend of mine. Well, he _was_. Since he started dating another Outreach student a year ago, he changed. It'd be best to avoid him, he's got crazy mood swings," she replied waving her hand dismissively. Kagome frowned. She had been hoping that she would at least make one new friend. Looking Sango up and down, however, she decided that she already had.

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

"Listen, I already told ya that I was sick, why do you keep bugging me about it?" Inuyasha asked, his tone obviously lace with frustration and annoyance. The woman beside him rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You don't feel that it is important for your girlfriend to know when her boyfriend is sick? Just not talking to me when you are ill isn't an option," Kikyo chided him, walking down the hall calmly and gracefully. Inuyasha's face lit up slightly as he passed a group of demons he used to hang out with but his ears flattened when they all gave him the side-eye and looked away.

"Listen, I already said I was sorry. What do you want from me?" he asked her irritably, looking straight ahead.

Kikyo narrowed her eyes at him and straightened her posture slightly, stopping mid-stride and walking in the opposite direction. Inuyasha groaned in annoyance and decided that Kikyo was just in a mood and kept going to class. He had really been hoping that he would be able to have a good day with her, given everything that he had gone through and discovered over the weekend—but it was obvious that that wasn't part of _her_ plans. He rolled his eyes as well, walking straight to class.

His mother had been reluctant to let him go school with the slight fever he was still running. She had doted on him, insisting that he bring the lunch that she had made for him. Normally he would've shrugged it off, but something about her effort to love on him and the feeling of being taken care of was too strong for him to deny. Regardless of what Kikyo wanted, he was going to spend lunch on the roof, enjoying his boxed lunch.

His ear turned when he heard his name being spoken just a little down the hall.

"—It'd be best to avoid him, he's got crazy mood swings," he heard his old friend say and instantly felt a deeper hurt in him. Not wanting to stay and hear anymore, he attempted to turn the corner when something stopped him for a moment. The sound of the sweetest voice he had ever heard.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, sounding worried. No, what was worrying her? Was it him? He would get rid of anything that made her—

His eyes widened and he quickly realized that he needed to leave… FAST. He scurried down the hall to his classroom, fear and excitement overloading his senses. Everything in him was telling him to go back and see her, be with her, touch her… but that was exactly what was scaring him so badly. The desire to go to her was one of the most overwhelming sensations he could ever remember experiencing.

 _ **Mate,**_ the demon inside him growled, frustrated with his host. Inuyasha swallowed it back, trying to focus on what was ahead of him and getting to class. There was no way he was going to allow himself to be a slave to whatever this stupid bond was.

He had finally taken a seat and calmed down when he watched Sango walk into the room.

He thought his heart actually stopped.

But when her little tagalong didn't follow up behind her, he blinked a few times. Sango sat near Miroku, one of his old friends, and seemed to completely ignore the obviously confused half-demon.

"Pst! Sango, where's that transfer student of yours?" Miroku asked for him. Inwardly, he was grateful that the lecherous teen asked instead of him. It would have made him look really bad and plus… he hadn't spoken to either of them in almost a year. His ears flattened on his head as he looked at the ground. It wasn't as though he hadn't _wanted_ to hang out with them… Kikyo just demanded a lot of time.

"I walked her to her first class. I offered to stay with her, but she insisted that she would be fine without me. I'll probably head over there before class ends to walk her to her next class," Sango replied, obviously at ease around her peer. Miroku was the student escort for the male transfer students, so maybe they had bonded more closely over that? Inuyasha frowned as he clenched his fist a little. He really had been missing out on a lot.

"She's quite the beauty, you'll need to stay close to her if she is to be safe from the other demons in this school," he advised quietly, soft enough that most of the other demons wouldn't hear if they weren't trying to listen.

Inuyasha's heart pounded against his chest, his demon roaring in outrage at such an idea. No one else was going to have her! He needed to get out of here and track her down—she didn't have any protection! He looked around the room wildly, growling quietly as he scanned for the quickest exit. When the teacher walked in, he came back to his senses and swallowed down that nagging anxiety that wouldn't let him sit still. Just knowing that she was out there without him was enough to drive him mad. He had to at least make sure she was okay. He had to.

* * *

When Kagome had finally convinced Sango to let her be in the class alone, the accepted the weird necklace Sango gave her and entered the classroom. It seemed like an ordinary classroom with ordinary teens, so she chose a middle seat and waited for the class to start.

Class went through fine until she felt someone poke her and slyly slip her a note. She blinked and looked down at the note, at little surprised by note-passing as a senior in high school.

 _Should I open this?_ She wondered, but curiosity always had had more control over her than she would have cared to admit and so, she opened the note.

 _Hey there, are you the new transfer student?_ The note read. She raised an eyebrow and jotted down a "yes" and dropping it behind her, not wanting to be getting involved in all the note passing that would likely get her in trouble. Soon enough, she felt the note poke her back again.

 _What's your name?_

She rolled her eyes in annoyance, a little frustrated with whoever was passing the notes to her. She hadn't bothered to take the person's face to memory—something she instantly regretted because now she wasn't able to put a face with the irritation she felt.

 _Kagome. Now knock it off. I'm trying to pay attention._

When she didn't feel a poke for the rest of glass, she let out a sigh of relief. As students filed out of their seats, Kagome leaned down to pack her bag, only for it to be picked up and held in front of her. Her eyes met a pair of striking blue ones and a wolfish grin.

"Hey there. Sorry about the note-passing. The teacher is as blind as a bat, but she's got amazing hearing," he explained, leaning slightly against her neighboring desk. His explanation made her giggle a little, and she decided that maybe she had been too quick to judge him.

"Sorry for snapping at you. I just didn't want to get in trouble since it's my first day and all," she answered, looking down at the floor shyly. The boy seemed to smile a bit more before extending a hand to her.

"I'm Koga," he greeted firmly, shaking her hand.

"Kagome," she supplied in return, but she quickly realized her folly because she had already told him her name earlier. She went red a little in embarrassment and pulled her hand away, laughing nervously. "But, I already told you that, didn't I?"

He watched her for a moment, content and even amused by how flustered she was getting. The boy didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. "Yeah, but I like hearing you say it. It's nice to meet you, Kagome. I'm glad you're in my class," he told her, giving her a wink before turning to leave. "See you at lunch?"

She blushed at that, looking away a little and shrugging. "Maybe. I'm eating with Sango Hirai, so you're free to join us if you can find us," she answered somewhat coyly, having a hard time resisting the urge to flirt. Koga grinned a little wider at that and gave her a nod.

"You got it. Sango is actually a good friend of mine," he told her, walking out to the hallway with her where the two nearly bumped into the girl. Sango looked at them with a surprised expression.

"Speak of the devil! Hey, Sango," Koga greeted her, giving her a side-hug and a warm smile. Sango rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him away.

"You mangy old wolf. What are you doing with Kagome? Not trying to scare her off, are you?" Sango teased, giving Kagome a wink. Koga chuckled a little and shook his head, glancing at Kagome.

"Actually, me and Kagome here were just getting to know each other a little better. See you at lunch?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Kagome.

She nodded and waved him off as he left for his next class.

"He's pretty cute, don't you think?" Kagome asked as she watched him walk off. Sango laughed a little.

"Pretty annoying. I wouldn't mess too much with him, though. He's a little bit of a player," she warned Kagome. "But, as long as you don't catch feelings for him, he's actually a really great friend."

Kagome considered this new information before shrugging. It didn't take much for Kagome to make her mind up about something or someone, so being told that Koga was a player was enough for her ears.

"So where's the next—" she was cut off by that familiar tug that had been pulling at her all day. She whipped her head in the opposite direction of Koga and thought she saw long, silver hair and white furry ears.

Her heart seemed to stop.

Was that… _him?_

And was he…

 _Angry?_

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, this chapter was a doozy! Thanks for all the love I've gotten so far! It's really helping me stay on track and keep updating.


	4. Chapter 4

Angry? Of course he was angry! That mangy mutt had been schmoozing all up on what was rightfully _his_. Inuyasha had to hold himself back, trying to remind his common sense that it wasn't rational to be so upset. He didn't even know the girl's name—why on Earth would be care so much? But… the memory of her raven hair falling gracefully down her back as she playfully flirted with his old friend—it made him sick. Thankfully, he had managed to tear himself away from her in time for her to hopefully not notice that he was there. At the sudden movement of fleeing, however, he suddenly felt a little light-headed. He leaned against the wall, clutching his stomach to keep the contents down. Is this what was going to always happen when he denied himself from seeing her?

"Inuyasha, are you alright?" he heard a cool voice ask. His ears turned before he did and saw Kikyo standing there with a look of concern and annoyance.

He nodded his head curtly, hoping that she would take it as him being rude and would leave him alone. He wasn't certain that he would be able to keep his temper at bay when there was both a pounding in his head and his chest.

"You look sick. Do you need me to help you to the nurse?" she asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her touch nearly burned him, and he flinched away from the coldness of it. "You're burning up," she stated, apparently unfazed by his flinching. "I'm getting the nurse," she told him, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy focusing on the scent of that _girl_ who was passing the hall he was hiding in. Her voice was like wind chimes, floating on the breeze amongst the busy clamor of the rest of school. He listened to her laugh at something Sango must have said and felt his heart sore against it's confines. Just hearing her heart beating made him feel like he could do anything in the world. It wasn't until a nurse helped him up from where he had sunk to the floor that he finally realized that he had nearly passed out.

* * *

"Sango, did you see someone over there?" Kagome asked with furrowed brows, having been certain that she had seen the silver-haired boy again. Sango turned in that direction, tilting her head.

"There's tons of people over there, Kagome. Who are you talking about?" she replied, somewhat curiously. Kagome shook her head, deciding that maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her. She was smart enough to figure that there were going to be some weird looking students going here, but whatever had chased her in the woods… certainly that wasn't a demon going here? Students didn't normally just chase people around in the woods, right?

"Uh, nothing. Let's get to class," she answered instead, turning back in the opposite direction to head to class.

The rest of the day seemed to go without a hitch and when she got to lunch, she was excited to see how everyone was divided up. You could tell a lot about a school based on the way the students divided themselves in the cafeteria. When they entered, however, Kagome couldn't tell what the divisions were at all. Everyone seemed to look different, so maybe this school was a lot more diverse than she had thought?

"What are you staring at, Kagome? Should we eat outside?" she heard Sango ask, apparently a little concerned about Kagome's shocked reaction. The raven-haired girl shook her head, looking back at her escort.

"I was just really surprised. Usually schools are all divided based on things like skin color, interests, or backgrounds but everyone here looks way different," she supplied as they approached an empty table to sit. Sango seemed to snort at that.

"Are you kidding? This is probably one of the most segregated schools I've ever been to," she retorted, pointing a hand in the far corner where several students sat. "See, those are all cat yokai," she pointed out. Kagome squinted her eyes and blinked in surprise. They all looked very different, but there was certainly a feline quality about all of them. "And those guys?" Sango pointed to a new table. "Those are the boar yokai," Kagome's eyes landed on a group of students who all seemed to have little tusks hanging from necklaces around their necks. "Most of them play rugby or football," she added with a laugh. "Everyone here sits with their own kind, even the humans," she explained, giving Kagome a shrug.

It was a little sad, Kagome had to admit. She had really been hoping that this school was different, but high school was high school she guessed. Her sad sigh seemed to make Sango giggle a little and pat the transfer student's back.

"Hey now, don't feel bad. Yokai are territorial and naturally like to stay in their own groups. If everyone was buddied up, it might cause more problems than good," Sango reassured her with a shrug. "But sometimes, you get a weirdo who thinks he is allowed to just invade people's groups," she added with a smirk, looking slightly beyond Kagome's eyes at something behind her. Before Kagome could turn around, she felt arms hug her from behind.

"Sorry to 'invade', but I'm a lone wolf, I don't know what groups are," the boy from earlier chuckled. Koga. Kagome laughed a blushed a little as he winked at her and released her from his grip. "Besides, I got permission, remember?" he added as he sat down, grinning widely at the two girls. Sango rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Only because Kagome didn't know any better," she laughed before opening her lunch box.

"Thanks for giving me the golden ticket, Kagome," Koga remarked before opening his own lunch box. "Hey Sango, did you hear about mutt-face?" the wolf-demon asked the taller girl beside Kagome. Kagome frowned and tilted her head, looking at Sango who seemed to sigh.

"Yeah, I heard about it from Miroku not too long ago. Speaking of, he should be here soon," Sango commented off-handedly as she poked at her lunch. Kagome saw concern on Sango's face and wondered what had happened.

"Who's mutt-face?" she asked Koga, pulling out her own bento box and opening it. The wolf demon snorted at that and shook his head, stuffing his mouth full of food.

"He's just some ass-wipe who used to be in our group before he ran off with that witch. Apparently, he got sick today at school and passed out. I heard that he threw up all over his girlfriend," he snorted, chuckling to himself cynically. Kagome's eyebrows raised at that. It must have been so horrible to get so sick at school.

"You're talking about Inu-something right?" she confirmed.

"Yep. Inuyasha. Worst fleabag on the planet. He thinks just because he got a popular girlfriend that he can go and treat us like we don't exist," he scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Well, he's got another thing comin' because we didn't even like him in the first place." Though she could tell his words were angry, she could also see the hurt on his face and the frustration in the way that he stabbed at his food with the chopsticks in his hands. Kagome frowned at that and placed a hand on his shoulder tentatively. Koga seemed to still and looked up at her curiously.

"I'm sorry he did that to you guys. It never feels good to lose a friend," she sympathized, shaking her head a little sadly. Koga's face became unreadable for a moment before reddening and looking away with a chuckle.

"You're really somethin', Kagome," he decided out loud before they were interrupted by a loud smack. Kagome whipped her head around at the sound and blinked at what she saw. Some tallish, dark-haired student in purple was holding a hand to his cheek and laughing nervously as Sango turned red in something between anger and embarrassment.

"My dear Sango, allow me to explain," the boy plead, waving at her to calm her down. Sango held up her fist.

"Miroku, you know that every time you try to explain the groping, it only makes me want to hurt you more," she warned him before shooing him to go and sit beside Koga. The wolf-demon merely laughed at the two of them as he ate, looking over at Kagome mirthfully. The dark-haired boy sighed and turned his gaze to Kagome and perked up.

"You must be the new transfer student, Kagome, right?" he asked, smiling gently. She blinked at how easily his mood had picked up.

"Yeah, I'm Kagome. And you're Miroku?" she responded, glancing over at Sango who was eating from her bento furiously. The dark-haired boy's smile brightened, and he nodded, offering her to shake his hand from across the table. She had to lean a little but accepted the hand.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I see you've already met the group pet?" he asked, gesturing slightly to Koga before sitting back in his seat. Koga seemed to bristle at that.

"Pet? I ain't no one's pet. Well," he looked over at Kagome with a smirk. "Unless you want me to be," he winked, watching Kagome go bright red before returning to eating. "Yeah, I met her in Bio."

"Well, how are you liking it here so far?" the boy asked, leaning forward and resting his head in his hand, prepared to listen to everything she had to say. It caught her off-guard to see someone so willing to listen, but it the way he had treated Sango earlier was an indicative sample of what was to come, she figured it was best to stay on guard.

"It's pretty cool. Everyone's been nice so far and the teachers all seem to be great. They really know what they are talking about," she answered happily, always one to see the positives. "Sango was telling me about all the groups here and Koga was telling me about Inuyasha."

Miroku seemed to droop a little at that and shook his head.

"People are spreading rumors. Some think that he had a serious hangover because Kikyo got him drunk last night. Some people think he picked up an STD or something," Miroku gossiped, shaking his head. "Apparently, he's been acting really weird all day. Maybe he's on drugs or something?"

Sango rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha is an idiot, but he's not _that_ stupid. He hates drugs and he said that alcohol makes him want to die," she reminded the boy, narrowing her eyes as he tried to scoot closer to her.

"As if. If anything, I'd bet that that witch of his has made him turn to drinking. I'd want to die too if I was with someone like her," Koga remarked, his mouth turning into a scowl.

"Is Kikyo his girlfriend?" Kagome asked, wanting to get more info before the conversation continued. She was used to the typical girly gossip, but it was never usually this juicy. Koga snorted and looked away.

"More like his addiction," Koga commented, stabbing at his food once again. Miroku sighed and poked at his own bento box.

"She was a transfer student that Sango was escorting last year. We brought her into our circle and Inuyasha fell for her immediately. Unfortunately, so did pretty much everyone else. She became popular and fame was the only thing she really cared about. Inuyasha was blinded by his obsession with her and left everything behind to have her," Miroku explained, sighing again as he finished. "She's not very good for him, but when we tried to tell him that, he shoved us away."

Kagome frowned. This Inuyasha character sounded like a real jerk at first glance, but it also sounded like he was in a toxic relationship that he didn't know he needed to get out of.

"Do we know what's actually wrong with him? Why he _actually_ got sick today?" Sango asked, changing the subject slightly. Miroku shook his head.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. Hopefully, it's nothing too serious."

While they continued to gossip about different students in the school, Kagome sat and wondered what could make someone just leave his friends so easily? His life was probably a lot lonelier than they were making it seem.

* * *

On their way back from lunch, Kagome glanced over at Koga who had managed to find another boy from his wolf tribe and rough-house with him a little bit. They still had a few more minutes before class had to start and the boys apparently liked to get out all their energy before the next class period. So, as they walked down the hall, Koga and Ginta pushed and shoved one another, knocking into each other laughing and play-growling. They had narrowly missed Kagome a few times already and she was trying harder and harder to stay out of their way.

"So, we like to stop by this little taco place on Tuesdays and this American restaurant on Fridays after school. Think you would be up for it tomorrow?" Sango asked, trying to include Kagome in the conversation that she and Miroku had been having. Kagome dodged a clawed hand, moving closer to Sango and looking at her curiously.

"Yeah, yeah, sure but Sango, how do you survive this? I feel like I'm go to get clobbered," she asked, shooting the two demons a look. They were busy play fighting and so seemed to ignore her, but Sango just laughed and shrugged.

"You get used to it after a while I guess. They always do this after lunch," she answered before her eyes widened and Kagome's world went black.

* * *

Another round of stomach acid and dry heaving greeted him as he knelt in the bathroom of the nurse's office, meekly trying to wipe away the spit from his mouth. He had managed to spend most of the day in the nurse's office, waiting for his mother to pick him up. Well, he hadn't been waiting the entire time for her, but once it got so bad that he couldn't even stand up straight, he had resigned to the nurse's pleas and let her call his mother. He felt bad that his poor mother was going to have to come pick him up. He felt bad that she was probably worrying over him. Most of all though, he felt bad that he had thrown up all over the nurse _and_ Kikyo. His already flushed face burned brighter at that memory. Kikyo had decided to leave at that point and told him to call her once he got better. Obviously, she was hoping that he wouldn't be getting better any time soon.

He sighed and clutched his sore stomach, wishing that there was something—anything in there that would help end the dry-heaving. He groaned a little, unable to help the quiet whimpers he let out, wanting to curl into a ball on the ground. All this because he didn't go see her? It had only been three days, why was he being tortured so badly?

"Damn it…" he swore softly, feeling another round of dry heaving coming up. A new smell hit his nose and he tried to swallow down the nausea as he listened to the hurried voices coming from the door just outside.

" _We were rough-housing around her and I accidentally bumped into her and she passed out. I think she hit her head or something, I'm so sorry nurse. It was an accident, I swear!"_ he heard a familiar voice ramble as he tried to explain the situation. From the scent leaking through the door, he could only assume that the voice belonged to Koga. Inuyasha frowned, his ears perking up and twitching as he listened more carefully.

" _Calm down, Koga. Let us take a look at the girl,"_ nurse Kaede shushed him. There was a bit of rustling and maneuvering before Kaede spoke again. " _She's going to be alright. It was just a bump to the head. What was her name? I'll have to call her parents and inform them about what happened."_

" _Kagome Higurashi,"_ several people answered, who Inuyasha could only assume were the rest of the members from his old group. He furrowed his brows at that name. He had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't place it.

He stayed in the bathroom until they had all left before finally slinking out of there, dropping himself on the cot across from the one where the girl who he could only assume was Kagome laid. As he laid on the cot, breath heavy from exertion, his eyes fell on her frame and in his fever, he listened to his demon purr.

 _ **Mate. It's her. She's hurt. We must check her.**_

Inuyasha's eyes widened a little and he sniffed the air, scenting _her_. It absolutely was _her_. The girl from that night. No matter how many times he had seen her, she had never been this close while he had been so lucid. Well, he almost chuckled at that. He couldn't exactly call himself lucid right now. Heck, for all he knew, it very well could still be just a fever dream. Regardless, it sent waves of excitement through his body and gave him some strange kind of strength. He rose up from his bed and approached her, staring down at the peaceful way she slept. She had a little cut on her head and he could tell from the red spot near her temple that she was going to bruise there soon. His inner demon growled at that, but he couldn't stop looking at her. This was the person who he was meant to be with. This was her. He had someone, and it absolutely was _her._ This beautiful girl who was sleeping right in front of him.

 _ **Mine**. _

His chest swelled and he felt the urge to hold her in his arms, cradle her until they both fell peacefully asleep. As he leaned down to brush away a few stray locks of hair on her face, his mother entered the room in a frenzy.

"My poor son! Are you alright? What are you doing out of bed? We need to get you home right away. I knew we should have kept you home from school," she gushed, looking over her son and checking everything about him to make sure he was still okay. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, placing his hands on her shoulders softly to get her to stop.

"Mom, I'm alright. Thank you for worrying about me. I got sick again but I'm feeling a lot better now," he told her, allowing her to rub his cheeks as he spoke. The smaller woman seemed to be pacified a little at that but shook her head.

"You still need to come home. You need medicine and some bed rest," she protested, shaking her head before her eyes landed on the girl Inuyasha had been trying so hard to hide. Her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh honey! It's the girl from the store I told you about! What happened to her? Is she okay?" she asked in a whisper, now realizing that Kagome was still sleeping on the cot.

"She uh, hit her head on some lockers or something," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck, trying to look as though he didn't care, but the memory made him want to strangle that filthy fleabag for being so rough around her and causing Kagome to get hurt.

Izayoi frowned and reached down, placing a soft hand on the girl's head. "Poor thing. And on her first day, too," she sighed sadly, pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling on it for a moment before laying it in the girl's open palm as she slept.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Inuyasha asked, his voice soft but still a little curious.

"I'm giving her my number and address. It's an invitation to have dinner with us tonight. After everything she's gone through today, surely, she wouldn't mind a nice home-cooked meal," she answered as she picked up her son's hand and led him out of the room. Inuyasha blinked at her response and had to bite down his tongue. He knew he couldn't let that girl into his house—it was a recipe for disaster. His mother could see through anything and if not her, then his father would be able to sniff out the truth and then he'd be forced to break up with Kikyo now that he's found his chosen. He grumbled a little at that thought, not understanding why everyone was so against him and Kikyo being together. It wasn't like she was a bad person or anything, in fact, she happened to be the most pure-hearted person he knew. She was always telling him new ways he could improve and become a better person, so why was everyone always against them?

He cast one last glance at the poor girl laying on the bed and had to dart out of the room when he realized that she had started to wake.

* * *

When Kagome had finally woken up, she was in a dark, clean room on some sort of cot.

 _I must be in the nurse's office,_ she surmised, sitting up and groaning at the soreness on the side of her head. _Ugh, that hurts. What happened?_ She felt a piece of paper in her hand and tucked it into her pocket, deciding to look it over more when she had light. She looked around, squinting in the dimness and got up from the cot, entering the actual office portion of the nurse's office and was greeted by a friendly elderly lady with a kind face.

"I see that you are awake. How do you feel?" the woman asked, getting up from her chair to come look Kagome over. Kagome smiled at the nurse.

"I'm feeling a little sore, but it's not bad. Do you know what happened?" she asked, furrowing her brows a little as she tried to remember.

"Those boys you were travelling with got a little too rough and knocked you into the lockers. Thankfully, you only got a little bump," she explained, puling out a bottle of what looked like ibuprofen and handing it to Kagome. "Here, take some of this. We called your mother but she was not at home, so we left a message explaining what happened. Do you think you need to go home, or would you like to stay?" she asked, moving to sit down in her chair once again.

Kagome sighed, having never really been one who would quit early on, and told the nurse that she would just stay at school. She headed out to the hall and pulled the piece of paper from her pockets, looking it over with a bit of surprise. It was from the woman from the store, Izayoi. She had left her with her number and an invitation to come over tonight for dinner. She blinked a little, uncertain how the woman had managed to give this to her. The last name was Takahashi. Maybe Inuyasha's mother had come by and saw her.

 _Oh, that's right. Inuyasha had been sick today._ She hadn't seen him in there, though, which meant that he must have been picked up already. The pieces fell in place. _She must have seen me when she came to pick him up._ She smiled a little. It was so thoughtful of her to invite her to dinner. She frowned a little. Who would stay home and take care of Aunt Tsukimi though?

"I'm so sorry, Kagome. I swear, I didn't to hurt you," Koga apologized as they were walking out of the school in their big group. Kagome laughed him off, waving at him.

"Don't worry about it, Koga. You've already apologized like twenty times already," she grinned. "Just don't do it again," she warned playfully. Koga nodded quickly and frowned a little.

"Let me take you out or something, Kagome. I feel so terrible about it," he asked of her, grabbing her hand and looking at her seriously. Sango's words from earlier rang out in her head and she smiled, poking his nose and pushing him away teasingly.

"You'll make it up to me later. I'll see you tomorrow, Koga," she rolled her eyes, waving all of her new friends goodbye as she got on her bike and headed off to her Aunt's house.

She couldn't believe how crazy the day had been, but she hoped that everything had been going okay back at Aunt Tsukimi's. When she arrived, she greeted her mother who was playing cards with her aunt and smiling.

"Welcome home Kagome! I heard about what happened at school today. Are you okay?" she asked, a look of concern passing over her face. "When I called them back, they told me that you wanted to stay and finish the school day."

Kagome nodded happily and dropped her backpack at the bottom of the stairs to take up later and approached her mother and aunt at the kitchen table where they were playing cards.

"I'm alright. The nurse said that it was just a little bump, so I should be okay. I've definitely got a headache, but otherwise, school went pretty well," she told her mom, looking over her Aunt's cards and pointing at the one she felt that Tsukimi should pick. Her aunt seemed to nod in understanding but didn't put it down yet. Kagome looked to her mother curiously and sighed.

"We've mostly just been looking at our hands to get good strategies, right Tsukimi?" she asked, looking at her sister and giving her a smile. Tsukimi nodded and smiled as well, looking down at her hand with a somewhat glazed-over expression. Her mother looked up at her and sighed.

"Work wants me to go in tomorrow instead of today, so if you wanted to just take the night off, you can," her mother informed her with a soft smile, obviously hurting from the glossy eyes of her sister, but needing to be strong for Kagome.

"Well… actually I was going to ask you about that. I was invited to go over to a classmate's house for dinner tonight," she informed her mother, looking down slightly at the lack of cards on the table. She suspected that they hadn't placed a single card down other than the one her own mother put down. The older Higurashi blinked in surprise.

"A friend so soon? I'm impressed, Kagome!" her mother praised happily, glad that her daughter was doing so well on her first day.

"Well, I actually met his mother the other day at the store. We got along really well and she wanted me to get to know her and her son better," Kagome answered with a smile. "I'm actually pretty excited to meet this Inuyasha guy. He's the source of a lot of gossip at school," she giggled. Her mother laughed a little at that too.

"Poor guy. His life must be hard if everyone is talking about him all the time," she commented. Kagome nodded in agreement with her mother.

"Apparently, he used to be good friends with this friend group I'm part of now and he ditched them all. I really want to see what he's like," she told her mother, blushing a little at how much of a teenager she sounded like right now. Her mother laughed lightly with her and waved her off.

"Well, don't let their poor opinions of him cloud your judgement. Try to take him at face value—he can't help what people say about him," her mother advised. "Now, go get ready. I'll drive you over and maybe Mrs. Takahashi will take you home."

"Okay, thanks mom," and with that, Kagome left to get ready for the dinner.

* * *

"Mom, don't you think it's a bad idea to invite a stranger over for dinner after only seeing them once?" Inuyasha asked, still trying to convince his mother that this whole thing was ridiculous. She waved her son off.

"You're feeling better and she told me that she's new to the neighborhood. She needs someone to be her friend here. Besides, you saw her in that nurse's office, she must've had the hardest day today," she answered her son, still preparing the dinner table. "You haven't formally met her yet, she truly is a delight," she added, sighing a little. When her husband walked in, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek before looking at his son with a raised eyebrow.

"Still trying to change her mind? I think you'd have better luck moving a mountain," he chuckled, leaning against the table beside his mate. She smiled at him sweetly before flicking him lightly and looking back at her son. Inuyasha groaned in frustration.

"Why can't she just have dinner with you two? Why do I have to be there?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. In reality, he was feeling anxious for several reasons. There was the excitement of knowing that he would get to see her again, but he feared more than anything that once she found out what he really was, she would reject him.

His ears flattened against his head. He didn't think he would be able to handle rejection from someone who was supposedly the one person who was made for him.

"Because I told her about you and she would be offended if you didn't want to have dinner with us as well," she supplied easily before she heard the doorbell ring. Inuyasha stiffened, his face getting a little flushed and his heart picking up it's speed. He swallowed nervously, eyes darting around to find the quickest exit. He noticed his father look at him in alarm. The man must have been smelling the weird mix of fear and excitement radiating off his son.

"Inuyasha, she's just a human girl. Calm yourself," Toga pressed, the great dog demon pointing to the empty seat beside him. Inuyasha sat down shakily, his heart beating excitedly. The anticipation of seeing her was killing him.

 _ **It's mate. She is here for us.**_

He heard his mother greeting _her_ , but it was _her_ voice that he couldn't stop listening to.

" _Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Takahashi,_ " she thanked, her voice soft and gentle. Inuyasha could listen to her speak all day.

 _ **Mine,**_ his demon growled in demand.

Toga watched his son with curious eyes, watched as different emotions flickered over his face before finally settling into something that looked like excitement and eagerness. His eyebrow raised as he watched his wife bring the girl in.

"This is Kagome Higurashi," she introduced, leading the girl into the dining room.

When Inuyasha's eyes landed on hers, electricity flew through the room and it was like they couldn't breathe. She looked at him like a deer caught in headlights and as he extended a hand to greet her shakily, her mouth opened slightly, obviously in shock.

"Hey," was all he could manage to get out.

"I… I know you."

Shit.

"What? You two have already met?" Izayoi asked, blinking a little between the two. Inuyasha felt his mouth dry, watching as his future began to fall into its box.

"Yeah, we met on Friday."

His mother's wide eyes landed on her son's, realization dawning on her face immediately.

"Oh, really?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her son.

 _I'm screwed._

* * *

Hey guys! I hope the chapters are moving at a relatively quick pace. It should definitely start picking up from here if you thought that this chapter wasn't too fast. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the strange look that his mother was sending to her son, the two teens couldn't take their eyes off one another. Kagome didn't know what she had been expecting, but she had been feeling a strange sense of excitement and anticipation all night leading up to this dinner. When her eyes had landed on the boy that she was almost certain was the thing that had chased her in the woods, she began to think that perhaps the whole thing hadn't been a dream after all. Here he was, tall, tan, and looking at her with some strange mix of surprise and… guilt? She couldn't place the look, but she could tell that his mother wasn't too happy. Or… maybe she was? The dark-haired woman smiled a bit brighter at Kagome as she seemed to piece something together and clasped her hands over Kagome's.

"I'm so glad that you two have already met, even if it was informally. Inuyasha, could you lead her to her seat?" she asked her son, looking at him with more of a smirk than an actual smile. Inuyasha's ears flattened atop his head, making Kagome's eyes flick up to stare at them.

They were the cutest things she had ever seen in her life.

She wanted to touch them more than anything else in the universe.

"Yeah, sure, over here, Kagome," he muttered, trying to look away from her, but seeming unable to take his eyes off hers. She followed him to her seat and reached to pull her chair out at the same time as Inuyasha.

Their hands touched and Kagome pulled back with wide eyes, looking up at him questioningly. Had he felt that? That nearly electric shock that went up her entire arm and filled her chest with a strange warmth? She watched his face for a moment, watching as he looked at her in surprise for a moment before turning his head down and looking at the ground, his mouth a tight line. She waited as he pushed her chair in behind her and got situated comfortably, still a little confused if maybe it had just been a powerful static shock. He sat directly across from her, fidgeting and looking a little flushed. Maybe he was still sick from earlier?

"I'm glad to have you here, Kagome. I've been talking about you to my boys here since I met you," Izayoi told her, giving Kagome an excited smile as she sat beside her husband and son on the other side of the table. Kagome looked over to Inuyasha's father and bowed a little in greeting, giving him a smile.

"I'm glad to be here. Thank you for allowing me to come to your home, Mr. Takahashi," she thanked, watching as he waved her off.

"It's our pleasure to have you. You may call me Toga," he responded with a warm smile, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening a little as he smiled. She looked between Inuyasha and his father for a moment and felt something warm in her chest. Inuyasha looked a lot like his dad as far as the demonic side went, but his face was entirely his mother's.

"Thank you, Mr. Takahashi, but is it okay if I call you by your last name for now?" she asked, laughing a little. "It's hard to call adults by their first names." He seemed to chuckle in understanding.

"Of course. Izayoi told me that you had a bit of a rough first day. What happened?" he asked, looking at Kagome comfortably as various maids came in and set food down on the table. Kagome was a little distracted by the maids and the fact that this family even had any, but still managed to respond.

"Oh, yeah. I was just walking to class with some new friends and a couple of the wolf demons got a little too rowdy and knocked me into a locker. As if I wasn't already clumsy enough on my own," she laughed, shaking her head. Izayoi shook her head, looking down.

"You poor thing. When I came in and saw you laying there, I felt so bad for you. Do you feel better?" she asked, reaching over and holding her husband's hand as she spoke with Kagome. Their guest merely laughed and shrugged.

"I'm alright. It was just a little bump. I used to faint a lot as a kid, so I have just fainted and not even really been hurt," she answered, shrugging. "What about you, Inuaysha? I heard you were feeling sick earlier. Are you feeling better?" she asked, wanting to talk with him and hear that voice that seemed to pull her in whenever he spoke. He kept his eyes down on his empty plate, swallowing and shrugging.

Izayoi gave him a look and he cleared his throat and looked up, his expression somewhere between anxious and annoyed. Still, he couldn't look at her.

"I've been fighting off the flu for a few days. Guess I just wasn't feeling better today," he answered, his voice deep and gruff and making Kagome lean in a little more to listen.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. I hope you feel better tomorrow. Maybe you can come with me and some friends to Taco Tuesday?" she offered, giving him a smile. His eyes widened and he looked at her, something like happiness twitching at the corner of his mouth for a moment before his shoulders seemed to fall.

"Uh… maybe. I'll have to check my plans…" he muttered, picking up a fork and stabbing at his food once a maid came to fill it. His mother coughed softly and Inuyasha put his fork down with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head in annoyance, but offering one hand to his mother. She held it in one and Kagome looked up at Toga who offered his hand to her with a warm smile. Kagome took his hand and closed her eyes, listening to Izayoi's prayer.

"Lord, bless this food and the company with it. We pray that it gives us strength and we thank thee for giving us Kagome. Amen," she spoke before clapping her hands together. "Dig in, don't let it get cold."

As Kagome began eating, she watched as Inuyasha continued to sneak in looks at her, as though checking on her. Kagome couldn't move past the feeling that she had when Inuyasha's mother had thanked the lord for her. It was if she felt like Kagome was a blessing. Needless to say, it was definitely an ego boost.

"So, tell us about yourself, Kagome. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?" Toga asked, tilting his head as he looked at his guest. She seemed to think about it for a moment.

"Well, I like karaoke. I love volleyball, but I'm not the best at it. I like art and poetry too. Music is definitely my biggest hobby though," she replied, glancing over at Inuyasha and watching as his ears swiveled to listen to watch she was saying despite his head being down and not looking at her.

"Music? Inuyasha likes music too, don't you, honey?" Izayoi asked, giving her son a smile. He looked up at his mom before glancing at Kagome and nodding.

"He's been playing the piano for about, oh how long has it been? Ten years?" Toga added, looking to his wife for confirmation. Inuyasha seemed to get a little redder and looked up at his dad.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, knock it off. So, I've been playing for a while, so what?" he shot at his parents, annoyance clearly in his voice. Kagome was surprised by the outburst but had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. His eyes darted over to her stifled giggles and he seemed to struggle with something before chuckling himself and shaking his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell," he apologized, taking a bite from his food. His parents' eyes seemed to widen in shock and they exchanged glances with one another. Neither said anything as to why they were surprised, though, and merely kept going with the conversation.

"Do you sing?" Izayoi asked, smiling at Kagome.

The girl shrugged. "A little. Not much. It's mostly for karaoke and singing in the shower when no one is home," she laughed, taking a bite from her plate. "What about you? What do you do in your free time, Inuyasha?" she watched him go stiff for a moment when she said his name, but he seemed to look up at her for a moment.

"Sleep. Video games. Eat," he responded, a snarky smirk on his face. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wow, that's pretty fulfilling. I'm impressed," she quipped in return, closing her eyes to take a bite from her plate. She could tell this seemed to interest him when she heard a soft scoff.

"Yeah, well, it's better than you only singing in the shower," he snorted. "What a dorky thing to do."

She sat back in her chair and looked him over with a smirk before shrugging. Before she could get another smug quip out, his mother laughed at their banter.

"Oh, to be young," she sighed happily, moving the conversation away so that the arguing would stop before it began. "So, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A doctor," she answered easily, looking at Izayoi easily. "My mom says I have a real talent for healing people, so I figured that I could use that in my career."

Izayoi nodded with a smile. "I could certainly see you as a doctor. You have a very tender kindness about you," she observed. Kagome blushed a little, her eyes flicking to Inuyasha's for a moment. Their eyes locked for a moment and she noticed that he was a little more laid back after having their little banter. Maybe he had just been nervous? He gave her a soft smile, as though lost in thought before his smile fell into a firm, emotionless line.

"Thank you, Mrs. Takahashi. What do you all do?" she responded in kind, genuinely curious as to how they were able to afford such a lavish house and multitudinous maids. Izayoi laughed softly and shrugged.

"What don't we do? We have a few real estate businesses, a few medical businesses, law enforcement, things like that," she answered flippantly, being humble. Kagome raised an eyebrow and noticed Toga chuckling at her.

"When you live for hundreds of years, it gives you the opportunity to amass power," he explained without her having to ask. Kagome thought about it for a moment, only now realizing that demons _did_ live for hundreds of years. Their lifespans were far longer than humans. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Izayoi, wondering if she was a demon as well. She looked very human, so maybe she was a recent marriage? The two must have seen the questions in her eyes because Izayoi laughed softly.

"You're wondering how old we are, aren't you?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with delight. Kagome blushed and looked away, her eyes landing on Inuyasha, who was smirking smugly at her ignorance. "I'm only 98," she answered, looking to her husband. "Toga is well into his 3000's."

"3158, if you please," he specified, smiling at his wife playfully. Kagome's eyes widened as she looked between the two of them.

"H-how? Are you-What are-How…?" she stammered, unable to formulate the correct question. Inuyasha snorted at her, seemingly amused by her ineptitude. Izayoi smiled at her floundering but did not make fun of her.

"I know, I do not look 98. I look to be in my late twenties-early thirties, yes?" When Kagome nodded, she shared a wink with her husband who snorted and chuckled, rolling his eyes. "I met Toga when I was 28. Because of the power that a soul bond can give, it lengthened my lifespan to match his when we became mates," she explained, giving her husband's hand a happy squeeze.

"Wait, so are you human?" Kagome asked, looking at Inuyasha whose face seemed to be challenging her. If she was human, then that made Inuyasha a half-demon. Izayoi nodded.

"I know, it's not every day that a human and a great demon lord like Inu no Taisho are soul bonded, but when it's meant to be, things seem to work out," she answered, smiling up at him. Toga pressed a cheek onto his wife's forehead and Inuyasha pretended to gag at the act. Kagome looked at them curiously.

"What is a soul bond?"

* * *

Inuyasha had been fighting back his demon all of dinner, but that question nearly made him slip.

 _ **Mine.**_ His demon purred, trying to draw him closer to her. How badly he wanted to sit beside her and hold her hand like his parents were doing. To plant soft kisses on her forehead and look at her lovingly… He shivered at the thought, shoving it away. These mushy thoughts were going to be the death of him.

His mother took the charge, obviously more excited now that she was onto his secret.

"Why, I'm so glad you asked, Kagome. All demons have a soul mate—someone who is fated to share their life with them. Sometimes it takes the demon centuries or even thousands of years to find their soul mate, but they always do eventually," she explained, looking at Kagome in a way that Inuyasha knew was just begging Kagome to keep asking questions. Apparently, his intended was quite the curious girl because she indulged his mother.

"How did you and Mr. Takahashi know you were soul mates?" she asked innocently, not even knowing how easily that question set Inuyasha up for a lesson from his father. Toga glanced at his son with a smirk before deciding to answer that question.

"It's a lot easier for a demon to know his intended because there are usually more things in play that tell him or her who it is. Everything about that person is perfect to them. Their scent, their voice, even the way they eat can seem perfect to you," he chuckled, obviously remembering something from the past that made his mother blush. "Then there's the pull, of course. The demon and his intended feel that magnetic pull to be together and it just won't go away until you are finally with them," he smiled, looking down at Izayoi, who was beaming at her husband. Inuyasha felt a small twinge of jealously. How badly he wished he had someone who would look at him like he was the entire universe. He thought of Kikyo for a moment and had to keep himself from sighing. She had never looked at him in any way even remotely similar.

"For me, I didn't know what it was about him that made me want to be with him so bad, but I just couldn't stop thinking about him. I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to be around him and how much better I felt when I was with him. Everywhere I went, I felt like it just wasn't the right place until I was back with him, in his arms," she answered, reminiscing. She placed a hand over her mouth, covering a smile. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome for probably the hundredth time that night and he saw her looking directly at him, blushing. He thought back to that night in the woods when he had chased her, and blushed as well, pulling his head to look away from her.

"Where did you two meet?" she asked, sighing almost dreamily. Izayoi blushed at that and looked at Toga with a smile, as though they were sharing a secret. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what the secret was.

"Well, we met at a corporate Christmas party he was hosting. My husband at the time was working for him and had brought me as his plus one," she answered, watching as Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. His mother grinned a little at that. "Toga was with his mate at that time as well and was walking around the room with her in his arms when we saw each other. From all the way across the room we saw each other and from there, the rest is history," she explained, smiling happily.

"You both were married to other people?" Kagome asked, surprised. "But I thought you were soul mates. Wouldn't he have known that she wasn't his soul mate?"

Toga nodded and shrugged. "I knew that. I chose to ignore it and make my own choices. I did not find Izayoi for 3000 years, so I did not know she was even a choice," he answered, looking at her with a smile. "It caused a lot of problems later in life, but I wouldn't change anything. It gave me my oldest, Sesshomaru."

Kagome tilted her head. "Sesshomaru? Does he go to our school too?" she asked Inuyasha, looking at him. He shook his head.

"Nah, he graduated years ago. He's off doing his own thing with his mate," he answered with a shrug, rolling his eyes at the memory of his bully of an older half-brother.

"So, is Kikyo your soul-mate?" Kagome asked him, looking at him expectantly.

Inuyasha went pale, eyes widening in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by his mother.

"No. Not in the least," she answered for him, shaking her head. Kagome seemed to sigh in relief and Inuyasha felt his lip quirk in satisfaction. She was interested in him? It made his heart swell.

* * *

When dinner was over, Inuyasha's mother instructed him to walk her to her car when she began blushing.

"Heh, well, actually, I was wondering if you could drive me home? I only live a few minutes away and my mom is at work right now, so she has the car," she asked, obviously embarrassed that she was having to ask for a ride. His mother smirked, looking at her son with knowing eyes. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"I can do it," he volunteered, though his attempt to sound unenthused was faltered by the quick hug Kagome gave him at his response.

"Make sure to call me about next week's dinner!" Izayoi called to them as they left the house, waving them goodbye.

"Thank you so much, I'm so sorry that I have to ask this of you," she apologized before letting go of him so he could lead her to his car. Inuyasha blushed wildly, trying to fight back the lazy grin that threatened to invade his expression.

"S'no problem. You don't live too far away, so I might as well," he answered with a shrug as they approached his red sports car. He opened the door for her, leaving her enough space to get inside without touching him before closing the door. He knew that if he touched her again, he probably wouldn't be able to stop.

Once they were in the car, Kagome look at Inuyasha expectantly. He merely turned on the radio and coolly pulled out of the driveway, not saying anything. She rolled her eyes and turned off the radio, crossing her arms over her chest. Inuyasha gave her a glance, his ears flicking irritably.

"Hey, driver gets to choose what we listen to," he protested but stopped when he saw her expression hardening. "What?" he asked carefully, moving away from her a little.

"Are you going to keep pretending like you didn't chase me through the woods?" she asked, her tone a little too confrontational for his liking. His ears flattened to his head as he looked directly ahead on the dark road. He weighed his options. He really could just wait it out and not answer her because honestly… he had no idea why he had done that. Well, he knew _why_ he had done it, but he couldn't just explain it to her when she didn't even know what was going on. She didn't know that she was his intended. Then again… he glanced over at her, the defiant look and flushed cheeks on her face making him want to hold her in his arms. After tonight, she might be more aware than before.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked gruffly, adjusting his grip on the leather steering wheel.

"You chased me, I think I deserve to know why," she answered curtly, her tone challenging him. He snorted at that.

"Maybe I just felt like chasin' ya. What were you doing just running around in the woods in the middle of the night?" he threw back at her, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow. She blinked and seemed stumped for a moment before frowning.

"It's _my_ woods. On _my_ property. I'm allowed to take a nightly walk if I want to," she defended herself, turning her nose up. " _You,_ on the other hand, can't just go around chasing people miles away from your home in the middle of the night. Plus, you _chased_ me. And… you called me-,"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll terrorize some other poor soul next time, okay? Leave it alone," he snapped at her, not wanting her to continue her sentence. He knew exactly where she was going with it and didn't want her to breach that topic just yet. "Where am I even going?" he asked when they got to a fork in the road.

"Left," she answered quietly, thinking about something. When she didn't say anything for five minutes, he heard his demon growling inside his head, demanding that he fix whatever he had done wrong to anger his mate. Inuyasha grimaced at the scent of anxiety and cracked a window.

"What is bothering you so bad?" he snapped, unable to take it any longer. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and when he tapped his nose, she seemed to understand and sighed.

"It's just that I've heard a lot of things about you that I had been hoping weren't true," she answered softly, looking down at her hands. He swallowed at that, able to imagine some of the things Koga had probably said and had already heard some of the things Sango had said.

"Yeah, so?" he shot back, feeling a little self-conscious.

"I think you've been acting weird to them because you are scared of something," she decided, looking at him steadfastly. His heart leapt to his throat.

"Whaddya mean by that?"

She directed him to the farm house and turned in her seat to face him when he parked.

"You know you have a destiny, but you don't want to accept it, so you push everyone away who wants you to follow that destiny," she observed, looking at him calmly. He blinked at her, eyes wide in shock. They were nearly strangers and she was sitting here trying to psychoanalyze him? He nearly retorted when she placed a hand on his, looking at him intently. That shot of electricity went up his spine, making him shiver once again. The power of a soul bond still shocked him.

"You still need friends. They miss you, Inuyasha. I can tell. You were the only thing they could talk about. I don't know everything that's going on, but you are running away from something that you really should be running to," she informed him, her voice gentle and soft and lulling him into safety. He felt like he could trust her, like she was the only thing he could ever trust for the rest of his life.

And he knew it was entirely because of this stupid soul mate thing. No normal person would feel so comfortable sharing this kind of stuff with someone they didn't even know. She was being influenced by it just as much as he was and… that actually gave him a bit of comfort. She was just as much a poor fool as he was. They were slaves to this stupid bond, but at least it was a mutual suffering. He shook his head and sighed.

"It's not like I _wanted_ to just stop being friends with them. That's just how it happened. We went in different directions, started liking different things," he answered her, crossing his arms over his chest and pulling his hand away from her. "Plus, I had Kikyo. I just didn't have time for them anymore," he explained with a shrug. Kagome frowned.

"You know, you shouldn't just make your girlfriend the only thing in your life. You're allowed to have friends and do fun things with other people," she told him, raising an eyebrow at him. He tilted his head and looked at her as if she were crazy.

"That's how you lose a girlfriend," he told her shortly.

"No, that's how you have a healthy relationship," she corrected him. "She's your girlfriend, not your Siamese twin," she laughed, rolling her eyes. He instantly wanted to hear that laugh again.

"Whatever," he muttered, looking away from her. He didn't like talking about Kikyo around his intended mate—it just felt really wrong on a primal level. Kagome looked at him for a moment.

"Will you walk me to the door?" she asked quietly, looking down at the ground. He mulled it over for a moment before opening his car door and walking over to open hers. She led him to the door before turning to look at him.

"Thanks for driving me home. It was really sweet of you to do this for me," she thanked him, looking down at her feet bashfully. He felt himself blushing, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah well, it's nothing," he brushed it off, turning to leave. She placed a hand on his arm, halting his movement.

"Inuyasha, wait," she called softly, looking up at him. She gave him a quick embrace, holding him gently. He went stiff for a moment, but when she didn't let go, he melted into the hug, wrapping his own arms around her.

None of this made sense. None of this was what normal people did. Normal people didn't meet someone for the first time and chase them through the woods. Normal people didn't hug people they had just met as though they had known each other forever. Normal people didn't want to leave everything they knew and only focus on this one moment with this person that they had only really met that day. Normal people didn't go through all of this.

Yet…

He couldn't find himself wanting to be normal anymore.

* * *

She didn't know what it was exactly that had possessed her to hug him. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, as though he was on guard against the world always. Maybe it was the way his ears flattened when he knew what you were saying was true. Maybe it was the way he looked at her as though he was holding back everything he had from her. Maybe it was something that neither of them could truly explain.

But it didn't matter.

She laid her head against his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. It was nearly as fast as hers. It was as though their hearts were almost in sync. That thought kept haunting her… the single word he had spoken when he had caught her that night of the full moon.

 _ **"Mate."**_

It had been more than an utterance. More than a command. It was a title.

Her title.

It had to be the reason why she had been plagued by thoughts of him. Plagued by the desire to be around this person that she didn't even know. It was why she had known as soon as she saw him that he was the person that she had been chased by in the woods. It was the reason why she never wanted him to stop chasing her.

She looked up at him, his eyes wide and full of some tender emotion she couldn't quite name. She reached up, placing her hand on his cheek silently. It was obvious to any sane person that she was crossing boundaries that normal people just didn't cross when they first met a person, but then again…

She wasn't exactly normal.

He seemed to lean into her palm, tilting his head and lowering his eyelids to scan her face, looking for something that she couldn't quite describe. She wanted to kiss him. To keep holding him. To keep being held. She wanted him to understand how she was feeling. She wanted to understand for herself how she was feeling.

"Inuyasha, am I your soul mate?" she asked quietly, searching his face intently to examine his reaction.

His eyes widened in surprise and he went stiff, much as he had earlier when she had mentioned him running from his destiny, and when she had asked about soul mates at the dinner table. It was almost all the answer that she needed. He pulled away from her gently, swallowing away his nerves before looking at the ground.

"Good night, Kagome," he bid her, unable to meet her eyes. She seemed to understand his nervousness and gave him a small wave as she put her hand on the doorknob.

"Good night, Inuyasha."

* * *

Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I'm excited that we can start getting into the really good stuff. I know Inuyasha should be about 200 if I'm going with the canon age of Toga (Inu no Taisho), but I'm going to keep him about 17. Izayoi doesn't have an official age, so I just made something up since it's not that important to this story. Hope you guys are liking her and Toga. I might do a little side story with them based on this if you guys think it would be interesting. Let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Kagome struggled to wake herself up for school. Thankfully, her alarm clock was programmed to continue going off until she turned it off herself, so she had to forcefully trudge out of bed to turn it off across the loft. Now up, Kagome got dressed and moved as quietly as she could through the old rickety farm house. As she brushed her teeth, she thought about last night and how strangely she had felt when she had come inside. It was like there was an entirely new feeling coursing through her veins. Red hot electricity fired through her blood, sending shivers down her spine as she thought about how amazing it had felt to be held by him once again. They were… soul mates. She didn't know much about soul mates other than what Inuyasha's mother had explained to her, and she cursed her aunt's sketchy Wi-Fi once again for being so useless. Kagome planned on heading to the library during one of the breaks in between classes to do some more research on it.

It made her wonder if she really had any kind of control in this situation or any sort of choice to make, or was it truly inevitable? Would she only ever truly be able to love Inuyasha and Inuyasha alone now that she had met him? His mother was obviously very content to be with her soul mate, so maybe it wasn't such a horrible thing? But then, why was Inuyasha so scared of it? From what she could tell, the boy was terrified of the very idea of being bonded to someone, so maybe it was a lot more serious and scarier than she understood? Would she even _want_ to be stuck with him for the rest of her life? Especially if she inherited his lifespan—that would be a _really_ long time.

She padded down the stairs and began making breakfast for her aunt in the kitchen. The poor woman probably wouldn't wake up until about eleven anyways, so Kagome felt back about making the breakfast so early. She made sure to leave instructions for her aunt on a note before grabbing her bag and heading to school. It was a new day and hopefully everything would go smoother than it had the day previous.

* * *

"You want to do _what_?" Kikyo asked, looking at her boyfriend with an obviously irritated expression. Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head at the sound of the annoyance in her tone, not entirely happy that this was her reaction.

"I was just wondering if it would be okay if I went to Taco Tuesday with a few of my old friends after school today," he answered, acting as though it were no big deal. His girlfriend rolled her eyes and scoffed at him.

"It's _Tuesday_. You know that I have archery lessons right after school, so I can't go with you," she answered shortly, looking out the window of Inuyasha's car. He frowned a little.

"It's not like I'm intentionally leaving you outta this or nothin'," he shot back, getting a little frustrated. "My parents just thought it would be a good idea for me to get out and start doin' things again," he lied, looking anywhere but at her. He heard her sigh in defeat.

"Do what you want," she relented, but it was obvious that Inuyasha most likely wasn't going to see her for lunch that day.

His ears flattened against his head again as he thought about last night and the embrace he had shared with Kagome. Being around her had been like floating on air—everything was light and easy, and he just felt so in place. Around Kikyo though… he knew he shouldn't be comparing the two girls, but he couldn't help the tightness in his chest that he felt around Kikyo. It was like he couldn't stop sitting upright for fear of her finding something wrong about him and just leaving him dry. Kikyo was perfection—there was not a single flaw that she ever let anyone see—even himself. Kagome was… she was quirky and happy and true perfection to him. His eyes widened, and he tried to swallow back those traitorous thoughts. That had to be the stupid soul bond thing talking again. It was only feeding him lies and trying to get him to think Kikyo wasn't as great as she was just so that he could get closer to that ridiculous Kagome.

 _Kagome…_ he thought, sighing dreamily as he remembered the way she felt against him. In his arms, she had fit so perfectly. It was like she was specifically made to fit right in his embrace, held close to his heart. He felt his face flush as he continued to remember that night and how amazing it had felt to hug her and know exactly who it was that he was holding in his arms.

 _Kagome._

 _ **Mate.**_

He had managed to swallow it down once again when his eyes caught someone on their bike riding on the sidewalk.

It was her.

His heart stopped and rose to his throat, pounding in his head. He needed to stop and get her and hold her and be with her always…

"Inuyasha, you're too close to the curb. Keep your eyes on the road," Kikyo scolded him, even more annoyed than she had been. He laughed nervously, embarrassed and slightly worried that Kikyo had caught him staring at Kagome. Hopefully she didn't notice _who_ it was and only noticed that it had been another girl. He glanced over and could tell immediately that he was going to regret doing that later. Still… he spared a glance at his mirror and watched her riding her bike and looking ahead in concentration. It took everything he had not to pull over.

"What was that about, Inuyasha? Am I not enough for you?" Kikyo snapped at him, not bothering to even look in his direction.

"What? Of course you are! You're my girl! I just thought I saw someone I knew or whatever," he answered lamely, knowing it wasn't believable as soon as he said it. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"So, you know her?"

"It's not like that!" he answered gruffly, though he supposed in almost every sense, it was _exactly_ like that. "I just thought she looked familiar, but I guess not," he added, looking straight at the road as he turned into the school's parking lot and parked his car. Kikyo said nothing as she got her things and left. He slumped in his car, rubbing his face with his hands. It was going to be a long day.

What was worse was that he wasn't even sure how Kagome had taken the news of being his soul mate. She hadn't seemed mad or upset, but she hadn't seemed excited either. He felt a twinge of self-consciousness flood his system. Maybe she didn't like half-demons? He blinked, realizing that it didn't matter what _she_ liked because _she_ wasn't his girlfriend.

 _ **Not yet.**_ His demon amended, growling in amusement within his head. Inuyasha grumbled a little at that and sighed. The way things were going with Kikyo right now were not looking good for him. He needed to focus more on making things right with her instead of caring so much about what Kagome liked or wanted. Still….

He really wanted to know what she thought of him.

* * *

"Hold on, wait, say that again," Sango asked, her eyes widened in shock. When Kagome had gotten to school, she immediately made a beeline to find Sango and tell her about what had happened last night.

"I had dinner at Inuyasha's house and it turned out that he was the one who chased me through the forest last week," she explained to her again, a little quieter so that no one would be prying. Considering that they had managed to find an unlocked janitor closet to hide in, Kagome seriously doubted anyone would be listening. Sango blinked a little and tried to process this information.

"Why was he chasing you?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"That's what _I_ was trying to figure out! He wouldn't tell me," she answered, rubbing her eyes in frustration as she remembered that conversation. Sango seemed to consider this for a moment.

"So, what happened last night?"

Kagome blushed a little at the memory and looked away from Sango's gaze for a moment.

"Well… we seemed to argue for a good bit of it but then he drove me home and we… I don't know what came over me, but we just started hugging and he just held me there," she answered, sparing Sango the details that she didn't need to know. Sango's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Woah, and you guys had just met that night? Well, other than when he was chasing you?" she asked, somewhat shocked. Kagome nodded.

"I don't know what came over me, but I was just so attracted to Inuyasha the entire time. It was like this weird pull and when we touched—I swear, Sango, it was like I was getting shocked or something," she relayed to her escort, unsure why she felt she could so easily trust Sango with all of this information when she had only just met the girl, but she knew that right now, she didn't have any other people she could tell all this to who would get it. Sango's eyes narrowed in thought and she nodded.

"It sounds like something I've heard about a few times," Sango commented, placing a finger to her chin in thought.

"Soul bonds?" Kagome offered, hoping that Sango would be able to shine some light on it.

"Yes, that's it. Maybe… well, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but what you are describing to me sounds just like it," she confirmed, looking at Kagome with an expression similar to pity.

"Is it a bad thing? Inuyasha's mother was telling me about it a little and she said it was amazing and unavoidable, is that true? Do I really not get a choice or anything?" she asked, starting to wonder if maybe she wouldn't have to go to the library after all.

Sango frowned a little and shook her head. "I don't know, Kagome. I've never heard of someone not ending up with their intended mate eventually."

Kagome thought it over for a moment. Maybe she just needed to get to know Inuyasha. He obviously wasn't all that bad since he was able to hold her so tenderly. Still, the independent side of her wanted the freedom to be able to choose for herself who she was going to end up with—If anyone. Why did she had to listen to some other-worldly link that forced her to like someone else? Then again… she figured that she could probably get used to looking at those beautiful golden eyes every day…

"Kagome," she was brought out of her thoughts by Sango's voice. "I really think you should keep this information to yourself. If Kikyo hears about this, you can say goodbye to any chance at having an easy high school experience," Sango cautioned her, frowning slightly. "Kikyo is adored by almost everyone in the school. If word gets out that Inuyasha might be cheating on her, things are going to get bad for whoever he is choosing over her."

Kagome frowned a little. "I'm not scared of her. I don't even know her, but she doesn't frighten me. I've dealt with enough bullies to know that she can't do me any real harm."

"Kagome… this is a school of _demons._ Do you think anyone is going to care if you get hurt?" Sango pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Regardless of the strict zero-tolerance policy that this school claims to have, it's still far too loose and people get away with way more than they should."

Kagome's eyes widened as she considered this, and brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She hadn't considered the possibility that she could make an enemy here. She was usually well-liked and got along with most people, but if anyone found out about this… She looked at Sango pleadingly.

"You won't tell anyone else about this, will you?" she asked, not even sure what she would do if Sango _did_ tell anyone. The escort smiled at Kagome and shook her head, pretending to zip her lips.

"You won't hear a word out of me about it. Your secret is safe with me, Kagome," she promised, giving the girl a smile. "Now, let's get out of this stupid closet before someone thinks we're kissing or something," she laughed, opening the door and being grateful that no one was around to see them leave at the same time.

* * *

When lunchtime came, Kagome sat with her group again and listened to the new gossip of the day.

"I heard that Inuyasha and Kikyo are in a serious fight right now," Miroku informed the group, looking a little smug. Kagome's eyes widened at this news and she glanced quickly at Sango was who looking back at her anxiously.

"'Bout frickin' time! I hope that mangy mutt gets his ass handed to him," Koga cheered, ripping off a piece of meat from the turkey leg he had in his hand for lunch.

"What are they fighting about?" Sango asked, pretending to be uninterested in the conversation as she poked at a rice ball with her chopsticks. Miroku's grin widened a little.

"Apparently, Inuyasha got caught looking at another girl while they were driving to school," he answered, looking smug ask he divulged this precious information to the group. Kagome and Sango's mouths opened a little in shock and exchanged a few looks.

"Psh, maybe he's finally pulling his head out of her ass and realizing she's not all that great after all," Koga snorted, looking at Kagome with a grin. "Now, if he saw Kagome, I'd understand why it would make him turn his head," he flirted, giving her a wink. "But then, I'd have to punch his lights out."

Kagome laughed a little and blushed, wondering who Inuyasha had been looking at.

"Now, now, Koga, we don't know that it was Kagome. We only know that it was someone who _wasn't_ Kikyo, which is enough for her," Miroku assured Koga before chuckling a little. "Though, I have to admit, if they _do_ break up, I wonder how quick he'll come running back to us?"

Kagome's eyes widened as she felt that familiar pull in her stomach and looked around, her eyes locking on golden ones from across the room. He seemed to be walking their way, but his eyes were all on her.

"Kagome, what are you looking- oh my god, it's _him_ ," Sango whispered as she looked Inuyasha's way. The group grew silent as the boy approached the table, looking them over a bit apprehensively. Kagome looked back at the group, surprised to find that everyone was looking down at their food nonchalantly while Koga was glaring daggers at the half-demon. Kagome scooted over closer to Koga and away from Sango and patted the space between them.

"Welcome, Inuyasha. I'm glad you could make it," she greeted with a smile. Inuyasha's hard expression seemed to soften slightly at her invitation and he watched as Sango scooted away from them and closer to Miroku, sure to put plenty of space between them. Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head, but he still sat beside Kagome, leaving a respectable amount of space between them.

"Woah, woah, now. Hold on there, _mutt_ ," Koga stressed the last word, glaring hard at Inuyasha. "You can't just waltz over here and act like you're part of our group. There are rules," he spat.

"What are you goin' on about? I _made_ this group," Inuyasha shot back, narrowing his eyes at the wolf demon.

"Yeah? And then you abandoned it, so you've lost all rights to sit with us," Koga growled, looking at Inuyasha threateningly. Kagome's eyes widened as she watched the two boys growl and threaten one another.

"Wait, Koga. I invited him to sit with us," she answered, placing a hand on Koga's arm and giving it a soft squeeze. Koga blinked and shifted his gaze to Kagome, his expression both confused and softened from the angry one it had been mere seconds ago.

"Why would you do that, Kagome? You've heard the stories, he _left_ the group because he decided he was too good for us," Koga asked, his brows furrowed as he seemed to fight with something inside. Kagome shook her head and looked Inuyasha's way, finding that his gaze was settled on her intensely.

"I figured that maybe you guys were all missing each other," she answered, placing her hand back to her lap. "Now, we remember what happened yesterday when two demons were fighting around me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Koga. She saw the guilt flash across his face and he place a hand on her shoulder.

"I really didn't mean for anything to happen like that. It was an accident," he assured her. "I feel so bad about it."

"And you should, ya careless mutt," Inuyasha spat at him before crossing his arms and looking down at the empty space on the table. Kagome smiled and looked at Sango who was looking rather impressed that Kagome had managed to quiet the situation before it had gotten out of hand.

"It's okay. I forgive you, Koga. Now, let's all just have a calm, peaceful lunch together," she smiled, looking at Inuyasha and feeling her heart swell when he gave her a tender expression that seemed to say: 'thank you'.

* * *

To say that it was awkward sitting there surrounded by all of his ex-best friends was an understatement. He kept getting hate-glances from Koga and the two humans kept shifting like they were uncomfortable. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. He hadn't really felt like he had done anything so bad that I warranted him getting the silent treatment, but it didn't really matter, he supposed. He just needed some place to sit since Kikyo was apparently super pissed off at him. He grumbled a little and squirmed in his seat. On top of all that, he had forgotten his lunch on the table and the cafeteria didn't accept credit cards. He rolled his eyes as he leaned forward on the table, resting his head in his hands.

"So, Inuyasha, are you still planning on coming with us to Taco Tuesday today?" he heard Kagome ask. His chest pounded against his ribs at the sound of her voice, and he turned a little to look her in the eyes. She smiled at him, a faint trail of pink across her cheeks. He fought the urge to smile and bring her face closer to his.

"I'm still thinkin' about it," he answered instead, looking away.

"You were thinking about going with us to Taco Tuesday?" Miroku asked, somewhat in shock. Inuyasha heard Koga growling quietly, but he knew that Koga wouldn't try to pull anything with Kagome there.

"Why do ya sound so surprised, Miroku? I'm the one who started it, don't ya think I would wanna go?" he retorted with a smirk as he watched the human squirm.

"You just haven't gone with us in almost a year," Sango explained, finally speaking up. "We just weren't sure that you were ever going to come with us again."

He bristled a little at that, looking away from her. It was true, he hadn't been to Taco Tuesday since Kikyo had shown up, but he had promised his mother that he was going to. Especially now that she knew that Kagome was his intended… He glanced Kagome's way once more to find her looking at him. She looked away quickly and pushed her lunchbox his way.

"I'm full. Do you want any of my lunch?" she asked him, looking away towards Sango. He raised an eyebrow. Most of the lunch hadn't even been eaten yet. He narrowed his eyes at her and noticed Koga's death glare from over her shoulder. Inuyasha smirked smugly and accepted the bento and began eating, looking at Koga the entire time.

"Thanks, _Kagome_ ," he thanked her, taunting Koga as he said her name.

"So, are you feeling better today, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, tilting his head a little as he tried to fill the awkward silence. Inuyasha shrugged in response.

"I'm here at school, aren't I?"

He wasn't doing a very good job at winning his friends back, but he hadn't gotten friends by being nice to them. He had made friends by being himself.

Miroku seemed to chuckle at that and shook his head.

"As friendly as ever," Sango teased before throwing a rice ball at him. Inuyasha snorted and tossed one her way, getting her right in the face.

"You're one to talk, throwing crap at me," he retorted with a smirk. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad?

* * *

"Kikyo, why is Inuyasha sitting over there with that group?" Yuri asked, tilting her head as she ate. The tall human narrowed her eyes and glanced in the direction the other girl was talking about. Inuyasha was indeed sitting with his old group, seeming to be getting along perfectly well with the group he hadn't spoken to in almost a year.

"I don't care what he chooses to do in his free time," she answered coolly, looking back to her plate with a bored expression. Deep down, however, she was seething. How dare he sit over there with his old group and act as though it didn't matter to him one way or the other how he had been treating her? She had seen him nearly lose it when they had passed by some random girl riding a bike. He had nearly crashed into the sidewalk. She narrowed her eyes.

 _Why is he pulling away from me?_

* * *

When lunch was over, Kagome walked with the group to the main staircase before waving them off.

"Sorry guys, I need to go to the library really quick," she told them. Miroku raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Kagome waved him off. "Just have to study for an assignment. I'm really behind, so every little bit helps," she answered, starting up the stairs. "I'll see you guys in class!" she called to them from over her shoulder, taking a moment to give Inuyasha a smile as she walked away.

When she finally made it to the library, she groaned a little in frustration at not being able to find anything substantial on mating bonds or soul bonds. She had originally thought that since this was a school for demons, she would be able to at least find some information on something that apparently all demons went through. It wasn't like she hadn't found _anything_. She had found texts that had gone into what happens when a demon finds his mate, what happens when a demon tries to fight it, she had even found some information on what happens _during_ the mating—something she had blushed at and shoved back on the shelf immediately. There just wasn't anything on whether or not you could get rid of it. She was giving up hope when she heard a voice called to her from behind.

"Hey there," the voice greeted, making Kagome turn to find Koga standing there, leaning against a bookshelf lightly. "So, I see that you are in the demonology section. What have you got there?" he asked, smirking a little at the book she held in her hands. "'Canine Demons and their Funtion'?" he recited, chuckling a little as Kagome scrambled to put the book back on the shelf.

"It's not what it looks like. I was just needing an answer to a question I had and I thought I might find it here," she answered, trying to ignore the look that Koga was giving her. He seemed to laugh a little at her before easing up.

"Relax, Kagome. You're probably new to demons, so it makes sense that you would want to do some research on us. But really," he assured her, looking her up and down. "If you had wanted some answers, you could have come to me," he offered, smiling softly at her.

She looked at Koga with a bright blush and wondered for a moment if he could actually answer the questions she had.

"Well… Someone mentioned to me the other day that demons have soul mates or something. Do you know anything about it?" she asked, looking up at him and reading his face. He seemed to blush at that and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jeez, I didn't know your question was so deep. Well, I know that every demon has one. I think some half demons do too, but I don't know a lot about that," he answered honestly. "I haven't experienced it yet, but from what I figure, it's supposed to be amazing," he answered, grinning at her. "I mean, you are literally made for someone else and that someone else was made for you," he continued, running a hand through his bangs. "So, it must be pretty great."

"Have you ever heard of people who didn't want to be mates or people who were able to get rid of it?" she asked, biting her lip a bit when he gave her a somewhat confused expression.

"Why would someone ever not want to be with the person that was made for them?" he asked, looking a little dumbfounded. "That sounds kinda dumb."

She blushed and looked at the ground, sighing a little. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

"Kagome, why did you want to know all that? Do you know someone who is going through this or something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, I met someone recently who is going through this, but I don't think he wants it," she answered honestly. Koga snorted.

"Then that person must be an idiot, because from what I hear, being with your soul mate is the best thing that could ever happen to you."

* * *

Inuyasha sneezed as he walked to class, grumbling a little. _Someone must be talkin' about me._

He had been surprised that lunch had ended up going so well but—his eyes narrowed a little—he didn't like how buddy-buddy Koga and Kagome were getting. He swallowed back the growl that threatened to leave his throat. He knew he really should be so possessive or jealous of Kagome when he still had Kikyo, but he couldn't help it. The bond made him want Kagome to be his and only his, so seeing Koga anywhere near her made him seethe with rage.

 _Well, that stupid wolf wasn't the one who had managed to hold Kagome already_. He reassured himself with a smirk, smugly chuckling as he sat down in his seat in the back of class. Normally, he would have sat beside Kikyo in the middle, but she was both angry with him and sitting in the front—something he wouldn't ever be caught dead doing. Her friends sent him death glares and he returned them with flipping them off. As they gasped and turned around to gossip, he grinned a little and felt a strange sense of freedom pass through his chest. He wasn't worried about what her stupid girlfriends thought of him. He was going to do just as he liked.

But when Kikyo sent him the death glare… he slumped in his chair and tried to make himself as small as possible.

Maybe he wasn't as free as he thought.

* * *

They met Inuyasha outside of school by his car and discussed rides. Sango would go with Miroku and Koga could drive himself, but Kagome had a bike. She assured them that she could just ride it there and meet up with them, but they insisted that she ride with one of them. Sango and Koga fought over her for a moment before Kagome stopped them and asked Inuyasha if she could ride. He coughed a little and looked away before nodding in confirmation. So, they drove to the Taco stand in relative silence for a moment before Kagome broke the silence.

"So… do you want to talk about last night?" she asked, glancing over at him. Inuyasha seemed to flinch a little at that and shrugged.

"What's there to talk about?"

Kagome blinked at him. "A lot. We could start at the obvious question of: Am I your soul mate? Yes or no?" she pressed, narrowing her eyes at him. He stiffened again.

"Why do ya wanna talk about _that_? I thought we had an understanding," he protested, grumbling a little.

"Well, I _think_ we are, but I need to know if you feel it too," she answered him, frustrated that he was being so weird about it. He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel for a moment.

"Yeah…" he mumbled, his gaze hard as he focused on the road.

Her heart soared as he said that, and she had to look out the window to keep herself tethered to this world.

"So, are we just going to leave it at that and not do anything?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Whaddya mean?" she heard him ask, sounding a little concerned.

"Your mother said that demons always end up with their mates," she reminded him.

"Yeah, so? Doesn't mean I have to," he answered with a shrug. She whipped her head around at looked at him.

"Well, why not? What's so bad about being with me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at her as though he was surprised and blushed, looking back at the road.

"It's nothin' to do with _you_. I just don't like that we're being forced to do something that should be natural," he answered, sighing a little.

"It doesn't really feel all that forced…" Kagome admitted, looking at him softly. She watched as he bit his lip and parked the car.

"Yeah… I know."

* * *

Author's note: New chapter! Hope you guys like! Let me know what you think. I love getting reviews and they really do motivate me to put out more content. Each chapter is about 18 pages long, so it does take me a little bit to type. The next update should be on Monday, if everything goes according to plan. Thanks for reading!~~~  
-STH


	7. Chapter 7

While he sat at the table in the taco place with the group, his eyes kept wandering back to Kagome—despite him trying his best to focus on the stupid tacos in front of him. The conversation in the car had managed to throw him off his game and send his heart for a loop. She seemed okay with being his soul mate, but as much as he knew that she wanted to talk about it, saying it out loud seemed to solidify something that he felt he had no power over, so he chose to ignore it. She seemed to be perfectly content chatting away with Sango across the table about something frivolous like school or something. Still… he couldn't help the feeling he got knowing that she was close beside him. He had tried to give her space, but somehow, the two of them ended up much closer than they had started out—a fact that almost had Inuyasha blushing. Things seemed to be going well until Inuyasha felt his pocket vibrate.

 **Practice got out early. Are you going to pick me up?** Inuyasha's shoulders stiffened a bit as he read Kikyo's message. He glanced around the group, realizing that they were all having a good time except Koga, who was narrowing his eyes and smirking at him.

"What's wrong, mutt? I smelled that hesitation on you, in trouble with the missus?" Koga teased, his canine teeth showing as he smirked smugly at Inuyasha. The half-demon felt his ears flatten to his head when he saw Kagome turn to look at him out of the corer of his eye. He pretended not to notice.

"No, I just gotta go pick her up from practice. See ya," he waved, getting up from the circular table. Kagome grabbed his arm, trying to get his shock that ran up his spine from Kagome's touch made him halt and shiver. He looked down at her and when he could tell that her face was as flushed as his, he didn't mind as much that she was stopping him.

"My bike is in your trunk. I'll go out with you," she said easily, rising from her spot at the table as well to follow him. It was quiet as they approached the car, but when he opened the trunk, she seemed to sigh heavily.

"So, you're going to stay with Kikyo?" she asked, not looking at him. His heart clenched in his chest and his demon roared in protest.

 _ **No. Kikyo is not who we need. We want Kagome. We want our mate.**_

"A'course. Why wouldn't I?" he answered, doing his best to give her a look like she was an idiot. That seemed to hurt her more than his actual words and she looked down at the ground with a frown. The scent of her frustration was actually kind of pleasant, but not something he wanted to smell for an extended period of time. He pulled out her bike and placed it on the ground, closing the trunk and tossing a glance at her from over his shoulder.

"Look, we know what's going on, but for now, things are going to stay as they were. I'm dating Kikyo. You understand that, don't you?" he asked her, his voice softening. When she looked up at him with intense eyes, he had to fight himself to stand his ground.

"Alright. Can we still be friends?" she asked, offering her hand to him to shake. He stared down at that hand and could hear his two sides fighting. If he said yes, he knew it would almost assuredly seal his fate to end up with her at some point. However… his demon wasn't going to allow him to never see her again. Maybe this would be the solution to his problem? He wouldn't get sick if he was around her enough, which would lower suspicion from the others and he could still have Kikyo. The two options weighed in his head for a moment and though he was so close to saying no…

"Yeah, why not?" he answered, shaking her hand with a lopsided grin. "Pretty sure my mother would kill me if we stopped being friends," he mumbled as he shivered once again at the contact. He felt another vibration in his pocket and knew that though he wished he could stay, he knew he had to leave. With that, he waved her goodbye, and drove off to get Kikyo.

* * *

When Kagome finally got home, she smiled as she saw Aunt Tsukimi sat in a rocking chair her father had given her as a birthday present one year. Kagome place her things by the bottom of the stairs and moved over to sit on the chair beside her aunt.

"Hey Aunt Tsukimi. How are things going today?" she asked, giving her aunt a bright smile, though she felt strangely conflicted inside. Her aunt just smiled in return, not saying anything. She could remember the last time she had heard her aunt say anything, but she was told that when Kagome was younger, Aunt Tsukimi had been quite a gifted poet.

"I had a pretty good day at school. I went to this taco place with a group of my new friends and the tacos were pretty great. Do you like tacos?" she asked, rambling a little as she watched her aunt listen. Tsukimi didn't actually respond, but Kagome felt like she was listening nonetheless. "I met a boy the other day, Aunt Tsukimi. His name is Inuyasha and he says I'm his soul mate," she told her, chuckling a little as she did so. When her aunt merely looked at the quilt on her lap with that same content expression, Kagome laughed a little and got up from her seat to go work on making some food for her Aunt to snack on. "It's weird though, because he seems to like me, but he's wanting to be with someone else. It just doesn't make any sense," she told her as she worked in the kitchen, slicing some apples. "But, he said we could stay friends, so I guess I'll just work with that," she shrugged as she brought the plate out and sat it on the coffee table in front of her aunt. Kagome picked up the apple slice and placed it in Aunt Tsukimi's hand, saving her the trouble of having to do any bending or reaching. The woman merely took a bite of the apple slice and continued to stare at the quilt fondly.

* * *

After Inuyasha dropped off Kikyo—a silent ride, he would add—he drove home and parked in the driveway, groaning a little to himself as he thought about the day. He hadn't meant to get caught staring so hard at Kagome, but he couldn't help it—it was the stupid bond. Of course, he couldn't just tell Kikyo that. If Kikyo knew that he had found his soul mate, it would be the end for him. Everyone knew how doomed relationships were once the demon met his soul mate. He slammed a hand on his steering wheel in frustration. His entire social life was falling apart, and it was all _her_ fault.

Once he got in the house, he was greeted by his mother who was happily sitting on a loveseat in the living room, reading a book. He smiled when his eyes landed on her and immediately felt himself calm down a little. His mother was always so soft and gentle with him, it seemed to be a crime to be as moody as he had been, in her presence. She looked up from her book and he was met with a fond smile and her patting the space beside her, inviting him to join her. He let his things fall to the ground and he moved to sit beside her, allowing her to give him a quick squeeze.

"How was school, my son?" she asked, placing her book closed in her lap gently. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down a little.

"Well, I guess it was alright. I went to Taco Tuesday like you told me to—and I sat with my old friends again," he told her, deciding not to bring up the fact that he and Kikyo had been fighting pretty much all morning. She nodded her head and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Good. How did it go?"

His ears flattened a little as he remembered the violent was Koga had greeted him, and he felt his shoulders slump a little.

"Oh, that bad, huh?" he heard his mom say, moving her hand to his and giving it a firm squeeze. "Give it some time, son. They are probably just bitter still from how long you've been away from their group," she reasoned, smiling at him in reassurance. Inuyasha looked up at her for a moment before growling quietly in frustration.

"I didn't even do anything to deserve all the crap they were giving me. All I did was get a girlfriend and they act like I've committed the biggest betrayal," he vented, waving his hand around a little to accentuate his point. His mother nodded in understanding.

"While it's true that maybe they are over-reacting, I think it's possible that you aren't considering how they are feeling. You were important to them and when you met Kikyo, she was the only thing important to you," she pointed out, looking at him tenderly. He pulled away a little bit, offended.

"What? I _did not_ act like she was the only thing important to me. I just had to readjust my priorities," he corrected her, pointing a clawed finger. She sighed a little.

"Maybe not, but perhaps that is how your friends see it?" she offered, knowing that arguing with Inuyasha wouldn't get either of them anywhere. She watched as Inuyasha's face seemed to fall for a moment before he sighed as well.

"Yeah, maybe…" he agreed, looking down at where his mother and his own hand were connected. "But when I am with them, Kikyo gets upset. She says I'm putting them over her," he sighed, furrowing his brows in frustration. Izayoi kept her mouth shut on her opinion of Kikyo, knowing that Inuyasha would only see it when he wanted to.

"Girls need to feel wanted, but that doesn't mean that she gets to be the center of your world. You can do things and go places without her," his mother decided to say instead, hoping that her words were reaching him somehow.

Inuyasha blinked at how similar his mother and Kagome had sounded in that moment and mulled it over. If someone who had never met him or Kikyo before can have the same opinion as someone who knows the whole situation… maybe there was a bit of truth to what they were saying?

"Whatever. I'm gunna go play some games. Thanks for talking, mom," he bid, placing a kiss on her cheek before moving to get up. He felt her stop him, though, and he sat back down, looking at her with a confused expression.

"So… care to tell me a little more about meeting Kagome in the woods?" she asked, giving him a knowing smirk. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing that this had been bound to happen.

* * *

"So, you felt the pull while you were outside and just followed it?" she asked, looking at her son with a raised eyebrow. Inuyasha blushed a little and nodded.

"She was apparently out for a midnight walk or somethin' and her scent got caught on the breeze," he supplied, trying to avoid his mother's gaze.

"What was it like when you first met her?" she asked, getting excited for her son. Inuyasha blushed at the memory and turned his head away, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Nothin' special. Just like any demon does when he sees his mate," he answered vaguely, trying to get out of this whole thing as quickly as he could. His mother wasn't going to accept that answer.

"So, it was the most amazing feeling ever?" she asked, laughing a little at how he seemed to get flustered over that. She could tell that she what she had said had exactly been the case.

"I don't wanna talk about all this mushy stuff anymore," he complained, shifting in his spot uncomfortably. His mother put a hand on his arm and gave it a rub.

"Inuyasha, you know that she is your soul mate—you've met her. Are you still going to keep things going with Kikyo?" she asked simply, looking at him seriously. His immediate response would have been "yes" in the past but… he had second thoughts when he remembered how happy his mother and father had seemed at the dinner table. They were always happiest when they were with each other. He sighed and looked down at his hands.

"I want to. I want to keep things going with her for as long as I can. This whole thing just seems so weird and unnatural. I should be able to fall in love with the person I _choose_ to love, not the person I'm _destined_ to love. I wanna make my own destiny, I don't wanna feel like someone's controlling me," he explained, furrowing his brows. "But Kagome's just so…"

"Perfect?" his mother supplied softly. Inuyasha gave her one, quick nod and blushed madly. "That's how she's supposed to seem. It's the bond. Inuyasha. I know that you want to be in charge of yourself, but this isn't a bad thing. You two were made for each other. She's going to be there to help you shape the rest of your destiny, just as you are going to do for her. I think you should give her a chance. The bond will make her seem perfect, but that's because she is a perfect fit for you. The more you spend time with her, the more you will see how much more sense it makes to be with her," she explained to him, giving her son a tender smile. "Things are only going to get harder for Kikyo the longer you put off telling her about this," she added, watching her son go stiff. Obviously, he hadn't been expecting her to think about that. He was quiet for a moment before looking over at her.

"Can I go now?" he asked softly, needing some time to think about everything that she had said to him. She nodded and gave him a wider smile.

"Of course. I'll see you for dinner, Inuyasha," she waved as he got up and left, waving back at her.

 _Why does she always have to say things that make everything else so much harder?_ He wondered to himself as he trudged up the stairs, the weight of his future boring down on his shoulders.

* * *

The week passed with little to no interruption and Kagome was surprised at the speed with which she had acclimated to the change in environment. It was a fairly simple routine—go to school, come home, make dinner, help Aunt Tsukimi into bed and the bath and go to bed. There hadn't been too much she needed to study for, so she spent most of her time with her Aunt or skyping her friends from her old school. They often expressed how much they missed her and kept her up-to-date on all the latest changes and gossip—but she could tell it just wasn't the same as actually being there to experience it.

Her mother stopped by as much as she could, but with Sota still in school and needing to be taken care of, her mother could only make it over every other day. Kagome didn't mind though, as it gave her a bit of a chance to feel independent. She still technically had an adult around, but with Aunt Tsukimi seeming to be in one of her out-of-touch moments, she really was taking care of herself. It was kind of nice to be able to just do her own thing without anyone telling her yes or no. At the same time, it was quite lonely. She didn't have her little brother around to pick on or her grandpa to pester. Plus, without her mom around, there really wasn't anyone she could go to for wise advice on her life problems. She often vented to Aunt Tsukimi and Buyo, but the experience wasn't the same.

Her situation with Inuyasha had seemingly improved. Without the pressure of having to like him and be with him right off the bat, they were able to find out a lot more about one another. The most predominant thing being that they could argue about almost anything and everything and the argument could last for hours. They were never violent or mean arguments, but if there was something that a person could have an opinion about, Inuyasha's opinion was contrary to hers, just for the heck of being contrary. There had been many times where she had wanted to pull her hair out, but when he would flash her that smug grin, she couldn't help but laugh a little at how ridiculous some of their arguments were.

Kagome hated to admit it, but she was grateful that Kikyo was still mad at Inuyasha because she knew that as soon as things were okay between them again, Inuyasha would no longer sit with them at lunch and would most likely stop hanging out with them altogether. It was almost as if Kikyo had him on an imaginary leash or something with the way he dropped everything to go be with her any time she sent him a text or called. He would always look at the group apologetically and quietly excuse himself from wherever he was. It often made her wonder if he was truly happy with this girl whom he had chosen over the person who was supposedly made for him. She laughed a little to herself and rolled her eyes, knowing that the jealous feelings she had weren't really hers and brushed them off. Kagome could entirely understand where Inuyasha was coming from. She had even thought the same thought only the day before. She wanted to be able to choose her own love as well.

Despite all her wishes and desires to have that freedom, she couldn't deny the way she felt when she was around him. She couldn't ignore the butterflies she got in her chest when he would make eye contact with her—or the way it was like a shock was being sent through her body every time they touched. As much of a fairy tale as it sounded, it really did feel like he was everything she could ever want or need.

Which was exactly why she hadn't stopped looking for research on how to get rid of the bond.

He was the only thing that she ever thought about anymore. He consumed her every thought or feeling, and she found herself awake some night, thinking of him and dreaming of the moment when they would finally get to be together. It wasn't healthy, and she knew it. Boys weren't everything. There was so much more that life had to offer her than just being paired off with some boy right out of high school. She hadn't been able to find much that she felt was valid, especially since she was only actually able to get any research done while she was at the school's library for the few minutes in between classes and sometimes after school. It was slow-moving and frustrating work, and she was starting to lose hope that she would ever be able to get rid of this ridiculous feeling in her heart. She had a last-ditch effort, which is why she was currently waiting outside of a little diner for her guest. When her eyes landed on a tall woman strolling gracefully towards her, Kagome smiled and gave the woman a wave.

"Mrs. Takahashi!" she called, greeting the woman with a small laugh. The woman smiled back and greeted Kagome with a slight bow.

"Kagome, it's so good to see you," she greeted warmly.

"I'm so glad you could make it, let's get inside," Kagome ushered the woman in politely, opening the door for her and escorting her inside. When they had tucked themselves away in a nice little corner of the diner, Kagome looked at Izayoi expectantly. "So, I'm sure you're wondering why I asked if you could meet me here…"

"You want to know more about the soul bond you have with my son, right?" she offered, straightening out her jacket with a smile and giggled lightly at Kagome's shocked expression.

"W-well, yes, actually. I've tried talking with him, but he doesn't really seem to want to talk about it," she supplied, rubbing the back of her neck as she glanced down at the table. She watched as Izayoi nodded her head and sighed slightly.

"Yes, he's been struggling to come to terms with everything as of late. He feels like he's losing control over everything. I've asked his father about it and he said that it's actually quite typical for young demons to try to rebel when they find their mate," she explained, sipping on some of the water that a waiter had brought to them when they had first entered.

Kagome listened carefully, taking in everything that Izayoi was saying. "He doesn't really seem to want to be with me," she commented, furrowing her brows at how much it hurt her to say that. "I've been doing some research lately and I can't seem to find anything on getting rid of the soul bond. Is that possible?" she asked, deciding to just cut to the chase. Izayoi's eyebrows raised and her eyes widened a little in shock.

"You… don't want to be soul mates with my son anymore?" she asked, as though what Kagome was saying wasn't making any sense. The girl blushed and looked down at the table once again, unable to meet the older woman's gaze.

"It's not anything about him, it's just that… he doesn't seem to want to be with me and I can't get him out of my head. He's the only thing I think about anymore and it's getting to the point where I can barely function," she explained with a frown. "It's just a lot of work for someone who doesn't want to be with me anyways," she concluded, sighing as she looked back up at Izayoi. The woman seemed to be in pensive thought for a moment before looking at Kagome with a frown.

"If there were a way, I would have used it long ago, when our bond nearly caused his entire empire to crumble," she decided after a while, chuckling dryly. Kagome frowned at that and sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I just don't think I can handle any more of this. It's only been a week and I can't stop thinking about him—this could go on for years. It's just not healthy," she explained to Izayoi, frowning and now unable to hold back all her frustration. "This isn't how my life was supposed to go. I shouldn't be sitting here, pining for a boy I met earlier this week who has a girlfriend that he isn't going to just leave for a girl that _he_ just met. Nothing that's been going on lately has made any sense," she vented, rubbing her eyes. Izayoi smiled.

"I see much of myself in you, Kagome," she commented, regarding the girl in front of her for a moment. "My advice to you, is that you cling to your friends and wait. Dog demons are stubborn—especially Inuyasha—but they are loyal and will always eventually come back to you," she assured her. Kagome smiled a little and that and sighed.

"Fine. But only a little longer," she conceded, glancing out the window across from them.

"Good, now let's check out these desserts. I've heard about the cheesecake here," Izayoi changed the subject, looking at the desserts menu with a smile.

 _How much longer is this going to last?_

* * *

As the week went on, Inuyasha found it harder and harder to separate himself from Kagome when it came time to go their separate ways. Though he as always on time to pick up Kikyo from her various practices after school, he always tried to extend his time with Kagome as much as he could. He and Kikyo were still on bad terms, but as her boyfriend, it was his job to make sure that she got picked up and dropped off to the places that he had already made a commitment to drive her to. The car rides were always silent and the atmosphere was heavy—evidence that she was still upset about the whole staring thing. His ears flattened to his head. If this was how she was going to react to him just looking at another girl, he would hate to see how she would react if he ever told her that he had not only found his soul mate, but had chased her through the woods as well. His face went flush and he did his best to get rid of the dopey expression on his face as his thoughts wandered back to that night. It took everything he had to suppress the urge to be with her. Everything in him screamed to go to her and hold her close and never let go, but he knew that giving into those urges was just accepting defeat and being a slave to his instincts. He knew it would be so much easier to just allow himself to love her, but he knew that life wasn't as simple as just doing whatever your heart felt like.

He was beginning to lose sleep from the guilt that ate away at him nearly every night. It wasn't right to say he loved Kikyo and have his heart yearn for another. Every time he thought about the kisses and tender words that he and Kikyo had exchanged, his thoughts turned to Kagome and he wondered what it would be like to finally get to hold her and kiss her- to be able to tell her exactly how she made him feel. He knew that their anniversary was coming up soon, and he struggled to decide between telling her what was going on and keeping her blissfully ignorant until she eventually found out.

Which was what brought him to this moment at her house. He sat in her room, laying on the bed beside her as she worked on some schoolwork and he worked on finding the right thing to say. He sighed and cleared his throat, deciding that it was best to just get it out already.

"Hey, Kikyo," he called, wincing at how weak his voice sounded. She merely glanced over his way, her expression cold and somewhat irritated.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she responded, rolling her eyes and continuing to work on her schoolwork.

"So, what do you know about demon soul bonds?" he asked, looking anywhere but at her. He heard her continue writing as though nothing he said was significant.

"Not much. I only know that you and I are not soul mates," she answered coolly, her expression straight. He bit his lip a little, his ears flattening to his head.

"Have you ever wondered what would happen if I _did_ find my soul mate?" he asked, trying to keep himself still and his voice even. She sighed and seemed to grow frustrated with him.

"We've had this discussion before, haven't we? You said that you would ignore it and stay with me. Has that plan changed?" she asked, looking up at him with a quirked eyebrow on her otherwise impassive face. He swallowed and looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"No, it hasn't I just… I think I met her…" he stated quietly, biting his lip, his fang worrying the flesh. She narrowed her eyes at that.

"Oh? When was this?"

"Friday. I… I was out for a walk and I… uh… bumped into her," he lied, not wanting Kikyo to know all the details just yet. "I didn't know it was her right away, but there was this pull and it was doing weird things to my head and I held her in my arms. My demon told me she was mine, but I… I ran away before anything else happened, but I know that she is my soul mate," he stated, forcing the words to leave his mouth and feeling a strange sense of excitement from having said them. Kikyo sat there for a moment, looking him over with narrowed eyes.

"You are leaving out information," she surmised, looking him over and frowning slightly when he stiffened.

"Well…" his ears flattened and he looked away. "When I first found her, something came over me and I… uh… I licked her…" he admitted, blushing at the memory and how embarrassing something like that was when it was said out loud. Kikyo made a noise of disgust.

"You weren't able to control yourself?" she asked, her voice laced with doubt and accusation.

"I mean, I had _some_ control, but my instincts were taking the reins on this one," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced up at her. What he saw on her face was something he knew he wouldn't soon forget. She was filled with the most bitter mix of distain, frustration, hurt, and anger he had ever seen. He wasn't certain that there was any actual sad emotion in there, just a brewing rage that seemed to almost overwhelm his nose.

"Yes, of course," she bit out, seething in anger.

"I just… I couldn't handle the guilt and with our one-year coming up, I didn't want to start it off with any lies or deception," he added, trying to explain himself to her. It didn't seem to be working. "Kikyo, you don't understand, this pull it's… it's not like anything I've ever felt before. It takes everything I have to ignore it every day, but I'm doing it because I love you and want to be with you," he explained, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Inuyasha, I believe we need to separate. You obviously can't trust yourself to be loyal to me knowing that you have a soul mate out there who was made for you," she spat, looking back at her schoolwork. Inuyasha growled a little in frustration.

"I don't want _her,_ I want _you_!" he protested, placing a hand on his chest. "I didn't choose this. I don't even _want_ this. I'm perfectly happy to be with you," he defended, trying to salvage the world that seemed to continue to crumble around him. She didn't respond, only continued to work on the homework in front of her. When a few minutes passed in silence, Inuyasha sighed and got up from the bed, trudging over to the door and letting himself out.

 _So much for honesty being the best policy._

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Another chapter up and not a moment too soon. This one had some really juicy moments in it I think, and we are starting to get to the middle of the story. I hope everyone liked it! I have been getting lots of positive reviews lately and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed. It's really so awesome to hear from you all and hear what you liked and what you think i'm doing right. I don't have a beta reader, so everything I'm putting out only goes through me. These next few chapters are going to start being more drama-filled, so just stick with us! Thanks guys!

-STH


	8. Chapter 8

"Inuyasha, calm down, what's going on?" Miroku chided him, watching on as Inuyasha pounded a punching bag repeatedly. The half demon had called Miroku over as soon as he had gotten home, knowing that having him around would at least alleviate some of the frustration and hurt he was feeling.

"I told you already—Kikyo broke up with me," he growled, punching the bag with only half the force he would normally use. He wanted to get out frustration, but he didn't want to break the bag… not yet, anyway.

"Yes, but you failed to explain _how_ and _why_ ," Miroku pointed out calmly, sitting in a beanbag lazily. Inuyasha frowned and kept himself from biting his lip. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Miroku everything that was going on. He would most likely tell everyone he knew if he found out that Inuyasha had met his intended mate.

"She didn't want to be with me anymore," he answered vaguely, continuing to pound on the bag. Miroku could tell that there was more the to story than his friend was letting on, but he decided not to press it too much.

"How are you feeling about it?" he asked, knowing Inuyasha wouldn't talk about it unless directly asked. The half-demon sighed and paused in hitting the bag, looking down at the floor.

"I dunno… Part of me feels sad that she's gone, part of me is angry, but…" he paused for a moment before looking up at Miroku. "I… I almost feel like I finally have some freedom," he admitted. This was why he had been pounding away at the punching bag—he wasn't feeling the emotions that a person who had been in a relationship with someone for a year usually felt. "I'm supposed to be really sad and devastated that she broke up with me but…" he sighed and shook his head. "It's almost like a relief, if I'm being honest with myself," he admitted to his longtime best friend. Miroku nodded his head in understanding, encouraging his friend to continue venting.

"I just… I've spent so much time and energy trying to make her happy and make her a priority. Knowing that I don't have to do that anymore… it's kinda… nice," he continued, sighing a little and looking back at his punching bag.

"Do you think that perhaps the relationship you had with Kikyo was toxic?" Miroku proposed, raising an eyebrow at the half-demon. Inuyasha considered this for a moment.

 _Well, it's probably more about the fact that I'm happy to not feel guilty about liking Kagome anymore…_

"I dunno… was it toxic?" he asked, frowning a little and looking over at Miroku. "What was toxic about it?"

"Well… she wouldn't let you see your friends, for one thing," Miroku pointed out, frowning slightly. Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head at that.

Maybe it had been his own pride blinding him, but he had tried to convince himself that it was just that he didn't have time for them but… Every time he had mentioned hanging out with his friends, Kikyo had gotten upset and complained that he was putting his friends over her. Eventually, he had learned to just stop asking and only spend time with her.

"Yeah…" he agreed reluctantly, wanting to defend her but knowing that it was true.

"She also manipulates you emotionally," he added, watching the various emotions spreading across his friend's face.

"What? How?" he asked, looking at Miroku curiously.

"When you express your opinion on something she disagrees with or a fight you are having, does she ever say things like, 'don't you love me?' or 'am I not enough'?" he proposed, looking at his friend with his head slightly tilted.

Inuyasha's ears flattened and he stiffened a little at how accurate Miroku had been. He swallowed a little and gave the bag a nervous punch.

"Maybe a few times…" he mumbled, though it was certainly implied by his tone that this had happened more than just a few times.

Miroku softened a little and shook his head. "I think you are going to find that life is a lot easier once you have finally left behind that kind of toxicity," he assured Inuyasha, giving him a soft smile. The half demon regarded Miroku for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged, wondering if all relationships were like this. Kikyo had been his first and only girlfriend, so he hadn't really known what to expect with any relationship. Maybe him being with Kikyo hadn't been as perfect as he had originally thought…

"Thanks for comin', Miroku," he thanked his friend, giving the boy a lopsided smirk. Miroku gave him a smile in return and waved a hand, brushing him off.

"Of course, Inuyasha. Any time."

* * *

When school began on Monday, the halls were abuzz with the new gossip of Inuyasha and Kikyo breaking up. Everyone speculated what had caused it—Inuyasha cheating, Kikyo cheating, Kikyo tired of Inuyasha, Inuyasha tired of Kikyo—but neither of the ex-lovers would comment on the situation, deciding that no one needed to know anything about it. Miroku had thankfully managed to keep Inuyasha's venting session to himself, though Inuyasha was sure that he had shared what he knew with Sango, who had most likely shared it with Kagome. At the beginning of the week, his classmates had looked at him with something akin to curiosity. By the end of the week, however, something had changed, and they were beginning to gaze upon him disdainfully. It wasn't like it wasn't something that he was used to—he had been picked on a lot as a child—but it was strange to see how quickly the school had gone from loving him to hating him. He thought it would change by the end of the week, but when the second week came and went, he was quickly discovering how much the school seemed to care about things that didn't have anything to do with them.

As he sat with his friends at the table of the burger joint they were at, he poked at his fries and sipped on his soda with a bit of worry. He had missed Kikyo all week, but not in the way he had thought he would. It was more like missing having someone you used to know around. He had thought he had loved her, but he was quickly realizing how much better life was without her. Not to mention…

His gaze landed on Kagome, who was happily chatting away with Koga and the others about a fight that had broken out sometime earlier that day. After dinner with her earlier in the week, he started understanding a little better what it was about her that called to him so much. Unlike Kikyo, Kagome cared.

She cared about his day and whether it was good or bad. She cared about his opinions and often sought to share her own. She cared about her friends and wanted to do everything she could for them. Kagome just cared about everything she did and had a genuine interest in the things other people cared about. Kikyo… his ears flattened to his head as he thought of her. Kikyo really hadn't cared about anything. She didn't care to hear his opinions or if he even had any. She had no problem leaving friends behind if it meant making her name better—and she often had left girls crying in the halls with her cold demeanor. Kikyo had been like an ice sculpture—perfect, but cold and unfeeling. Kagome was… his eyes softened as he looked on at her, his expression going a little lop-sided as he fought to suppress the dopey smile that threatened to break out on his face. Kagome was like a fire. Warm, inviting, and would burn you if you provoked it enough.

Inuyasha's ear flicked in the direction of a cough and his eyes tore away from Kagome, settling on the person who had woken him from his stupor. Miroku sat there across from him, grinning smugly. Inuyasha's cheeks burned with embarrassment and he tore his head away from the girl beside him. He knew he really shouldn't have been staring at her so much, but he couldn't help how inviting that sweet smile was.

"Inuyasha?" he heard his name called and blinked a little, his gaze now back on Kagome who was looking up at him expectantly.

"What?" he asked dumbly, his cheeks still pink.

"You weren't listening to a thing I was saying, were you?" Kagome asked, laughing a little and rolling her eyes. "Always off in La La Land."

"Whatever… What did ya want?" he asked, looking away from her for a moment to try and ignore how cute her laugh was.

"Koga was wanting to know if we wanted to go to one of his family's vacation homes for the three-day break?" she informed him, her eyes looking over at Koga's for only a moment before locking back onto his. It made Inuyasha's heart swell to see her so focused on him.

"Uh, I guess. Whatever," he shrugged, looking at Koga and making a taunting face.

"You're lucky to be coming at all, but Kagome insisted I invite the rest of you," the wolf-demon explained, smirking and chuckling a little as he placed an arm around Kagome's shoulders. Kagome blushed and brushed him off but didn't seem to make any moves to make him release her from his embrace. Inuyasha fought back his growl and had to remind himself that he had told Kagome that things weren't going to progress with them any time soon. It wasn't right for him to try and keep her from seeing other men, he supposed. Still…

"Get yer filthy hands off her, ya stinkin' wolf," he teased, trying to sound playful even though he meant every word that he said. Koga snorted and made eye contact with Inuyasha as he placed a light kiss on Kagome's head.

"Who's gunna stop me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow with a grin. Inuyasha was about to growl before Kagome gave Koga a light slap and scooted away from him—and closer to Inuyasha, he thought gladly.

"Hey now, you can't just go around kissing me. We've talked about this, Koga," she scolded him, pointing a finger at him with the corners of her mouth turned downwards into a frown.

Koga gave her a wolfish grin and shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, you're just so irresistible."

Miroku and Sango chuckled a little, shaking their heads and glancing over at the half-demon who was obviously unhappy with Koga's obvious attempts to move in on Kagome. Kagome frowned a little after a moment and sighed.

"Wait, I can't. I have to watch over my Aunt Tsukimi," she told them, her shoulders slumping a little. "I can't believe I almost forgot about that."

"Can't your mom or grandpa take a turn for a weekend? You're always with her," Sango asked, furrowing her eyebrows a little. Kagome sighed and looked down.

"I really don't mind watching over her—it's actually pretty easy. I'll have to check with my mom, but I don't think she would be able to take off an entire weekend from work," she answered, sighing. "Sorry," she told Koga, looking at him apologetically. The wolf demon frowned as well, looking a bit crestfallen.

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment, looking down at his burger. Maybe he could do something nice for her? After all, she had been so patient with him…

"Well… I could ask my mom if one of our maids could watch over her for a few days," Inuyasha offered, not making eye contact with any of the table members. Kagome gently grabbed his hand, sending a jolt through the both of them, and their eyes locked.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose on any of you," she asked, her face looking strangely tender. The sight made him feel warm inside.

"Sure, it's whatever. We can spare a maid for a few days or whatever," he shrugged, not pulling away from the touch that seemed to draw him in. He was rewarded with a bright smile that spread across her entire face and she moved to wrap her arms around him in a bit of an awkward sitting-down hug. Nevertheless, he welcomed the embrace and closed his eyes for a moment, wishing he could stay there but knowing that they had an audience and couldn't afford to get caught doing anything. He gave her a pat on the back and pretended to roll his eyes irritably.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's not a big deal or anything," he brushed her off easily, subtly encouraging her to keep hugging him but trying to make it seem as though he wanted her to leave. She held on for a moment longer before looking back at the group that seemed to be smiling at them for more than just the knowledge that Kagome was going to be going with them.

"It's going to be a blast, guys," Kagome grinned, keeping her hand on Inuyasha's under the table and giving it a squeeze. His face went flush, and he had to look away as he gave her a squeeze back.

* * *

As the week continued, Kagome noticed the poor treatment that Inuyasha had been receiving since he and Kikyo had broken up. He hadn't said much about it, but he didn't seem all that upset, so she assumed that things were going okay. It was surprising how people had gone from liking him a lot to almost hating him. People found any reason that they could to trash talk him or make his life harder. She felt bad for him, especially when she saw someone try to knock his books out of his hands as he was walking to class. Fortunately, Inuyasha wasn't the kind of guy you could pick on and get away with it, so he nearly started a fight and scared the student away.

To say that things between her and Inuyasha had changed would be a bit of an over-statement. Though he no longer left her to see Kikyo, he seemed to continue to hold back from his affections for her. She could see the emotions in his eyes—the tenderness that sometimes his behind the rough exterior he tried to portray—and knew that he was purposefully holding back. There was something keeping him from giving in to the pull that the both of them felt, but she could tell that he was slowly coming to terms with it. As for herself… well…

She couldn't say that she was in love with him or anything—they had known each other for only about a month now—but there was an intense emotion she felt every time she saw him or heard him say her name. At first, she had thought that everything she was feeling was just because of the soul bond that his mother had told her about. She thought that maybe everything she was feeling was artificial and the idea of loving someone purely out of some other force and not her own volition was a little… well… off-putting. It didn't matter how wonderful the guy was—she wanted to be able to love someone because she chose that path. As time moved on, and as she spent more time with him, she began realizing that this bond wasn't projecting false emotions onto her—it was enhancing them and making them more obvious. It was helping her understand that Inuyasha was someone that she could truly be happy with.

She sighed a little as she brushed through her hair, getting ready to leave for the weekend trip with the group to Koga's vacation home on the beach. If she were being honest, she would have to admit that she felt bad to leave her poor aunt behind in the care of a stranger, but her mother had promised to drop in before and after work to check on her and make sure things were still going okay. Though she loved being able to take care of her aunt, she was excited to finally have some time off to just relax and not worry about school or if her aunt had taken certain medications or not. A buzz in her pocket halted her train of thought.

 **We're here.** Read the text from Inuyasha. She smiled and felt her heart skip a beat when she read his name. They never really texted outside of the group chat, so anytime that she got a message from him, she would light up in excitement. She picked up her tote for the weekend and greeted her friends waiting for her outside.

The beach was beautiful this time of the year. It was still a little hot, but the air had a nice breeze that made sitting in the shade a perfect setting. Kagome sighed happily as she looked around the private beach and smiled as her gaze landed on the other members of her group who were setting up towels and umbrellas in a sandier part of the beach. The gave her a wave and bid her to join them. She had been getting changed into her swim suit after the two hour-long drive to Koga's vacation cabin.

"Kagome! Come over here! Let me put some sunscreen on you!" Sango called, her voice light with a bit of happy laughter. Kagome smiled and jogged lightly over to where Sango waited for her patiently with a bottle of sun screen. Kagome took off the jacket she was wearing and tried not to laugh as Sango rubbed the sunscreen in for her.

"This place really is beautiful, Koga," Kagome complimented, glancing over at Koga as she took the sunscreen bottle from Sango and began to spread the white lotion on her friend's back. Koga grinned and pulled his hair back in his ponytail a little tighter.

"Thanks, Kagome. It's been in my family for years. We used to live up in the mountains, but when demons and humans started hanging out more, my family wanted a little place where we could get away from everything," he explained, placing his hands on his hips proudly as he looked out at the water.

"Psh, sure it's not just to throw blackout parties?" Inuyasha snorted from his spot on a towel, looking up at them from where he reclined peacefully. Kagome giggled a little as Koga shrugged cheekily.

"I mean, that too, of course. Duh."

"Do you need some, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked the half-demon, looking down at Inuyasha and offering him the sunscreen in her hands. He glanced up at her, seeming to think about it for a moment before shrugging and sitting up a little more. Apparently, he wanted her to put it on for him. Kagome glanced over at Sango, who was rubbing it onto Miroku, and decided it would be okay. She moved over and sat behind him, squeezing the bottle and allowing a generous amount of the sunscreen lotion to squirt into her hands before tentatively placing a hand on his back. They both jumped a little at the contact before Inuyasha hissed a little.

"Frickin' cold," he muttered, but allowed her to continue her ministrations on his back. She blushed a little as she spread the white substance across the panels of his back, nearly hypnotized by the way the muscles seemed to move and flex under her fingertips. Kagome had to bite her lip to keep from saying anything as she gently dug her thumbs into the muscle, rubbing in circular motions. He groaned a little, obviously enjoying the back massage she was giving him. The sound made them both pause, and she watched as his ears flattened to his head.

"Sorry. My uh… back's been sore…" he supplied dumbly, clearly making the excuse up on the spot. Kagome giggled a little at how much he tried to hide his enjoyment and finished applying the sunscreen on his back and shoulders with a little more business-like attention. When she was done, she moved to the front and offered him the bottle but was surprised when he was looking away, his face bright red.

"You gunna finish the job or what?" he muttered, pretending to provoke her. Kagome bit back a smile and squirted some more into her palm.

"With an attitude like that, I just might not," she answered saucily, raising an eyebrow at him in amusement. Inuyasha returned her smirk and closed his eyes again, leaning back a little to allow her to get the best access she could from this angle. She wished that she could close her eyes and try not to enjoy this as much as she was but…

When her hands met his chest, there was something so much more intimate about the experience—something tender about the motion of spreading the sunscreen across his chest. Once again, she tried to be business-like, but the feeling of his abs rippling under her fingers nearly made her pause. She could feel his rapid heartbeat—the way he breathed, deeply in and deeply out—it was all so mesmerizing. She wished the moment could last forever.

"C'mon guys!" Kagome heard Koga call to her from the water, causing her to pull back in embarrassment and look down at her lap. She assumed Inuyasha did the same thing, but he didn't seem as phased by it.

"You go on ahead, I don't really like swimming all that much," he told her, waving her off. Kagome looked up at him, shocked to find how soft his eyes were, and nodded at him, getting up and moving over to the group, red covering her face.

"Glad you could finally make it. Jeez, how long does it take to rub some sunscreen on?" Koga greeted her with a chuckle, sending a splash her way.

* * *

When it was time for dinner, the group went to a diner in the closest town nearby. When they were seated, they were greeted by a smiling redhead who seemed to be particularly excited to see them.

"Hi guys! My name is Ayame and I'm going to be your server tonight. What can I…" her voice trailed off as she looked up from the notepad that she was taking notes on and locked eyes with Koga. Kagome looked at her friend who was just as equally entranced and raised an eyebrow at the other members of the table. No one said anything for roughly a minute before Inuyasha cleared his throat.

"Hey, I just wanna water," he told her, rolling his eyes at how weird their server was acting.

"Hey there, my name's Koga," the wolf-demon greeted, holding a hand out for her to shake. She leaned across the table a little to accept it and seemed to pause for a moment her eyes widening as she did so.

"Yes, I'll have a lemonade," Miroku told their server, a little confused by their weird behavior. Sango told Ayame her drink as well and the rest of the group watched as Koga and Ayame seemed to be lost in their own little world for a moment before Kagome coughed, kicking Koga under the table. He blinked and was seemingly snapped out of his trance, looking back at the group for a moment.

"S-sorry. Uh, I'll just have a water too," he told Ayame, looking up at her. She blushed at him and nodded as she collected everyone's beverage information once again and bowed a little before leaving, struggling to tear herself away from Koga's eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha asked, frowning and throwing a straw at Koga's head. The wolf demon gave them a panicked look and got up from his seat.

"We need to leave," he said simply, not bothering to look at the rest of the table as he left, not waiting for them to follow. The members of the group exchanged puzzled expressions, but decided to follow Koga out nonetheless.

* * *

Inuyasha walked at the back of the group and looked up at the stars, having a sneaking suspicion that he knew exactly what had happened. He could recognize that look anywhere—he had seen it on the faces of his parents and even his own brother when he had met his mate. Koga must have found the one.

"Koga, slow down," Kagome called after the wolf-demon, following him and trying to keep up. She knew that Koga was especially fast, even for a demon, but she hadn't thought that even his walk could be so much faster than everyone else's. When she caught up to him, she placed a hand on his arm and blinked when he flinched away from her a little.

"I…" he began, a little shocked by his own flinch and looking away from Kagome as he kept walking. "Sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just decided I wasn't hungry anymore," he lied, his cheeks tinted a bit rosy in color. Kagome tilted her head a little.

"Hold on, Koga. It's okay to leave, but just wait for us," she asked, laughing a little to lighten his mood. He glanced down at her before sighing and stopping in his tracks, allowing the others an opportunity to catch up.

"Everything okay, Koga?" Sango asked when they reached him, their faces obviously concerned for him. The wolf demon shrugged it off.

"That place was way too crowded. We need to find a place with less people," Koga answered, his response now different from the one that he had given Kagome only minutes before. Inuyasha seemed to have a smug expression on his face and moved closer to where Kagome was standing, placing his arms across his chest.

"Well, it's too late. Everything else is closed," he pointed out, gesturing to the nearly empty street. Koga turned his head to look and sighed. Kagome watched Inuyasha sighed a little as well and wondered if Inuyasha knew what was going on better than she did.

"We could always just go back to the cabin and have a bonfire or something," the half-demon suggested with a shrug, looking away from the group. Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Koga. We can just have a fire and roast hot dogs and s'mores," she added, giving Koga a pat on the arm. "No big deal."

Koga looked at his friend gratefully and nodded, deciding that that was the best course of action.

* * *

When they got back to the cabin, the boys put together the fire and the girls grabbed the chairs, blankets, and food. It was a good thing that the house was stocked with food, otherwise they may not have been able to eat dinner that night, Kagome mused as everyone placed their chairs around the fire. Miroku and Sango sat beside one another and Koga and Inuyasha sat on either side of Kagome, though Inuyasha was certainly closer. As they roasted hotdogs and looked up at the stars, Kagome heard the telltale signs of soft snoring coming from across the bonfire and noticed that Miroku and Sango had fallen asleep, Miroku's head on Sango's shoulder. Kagome smiled at the sweet sight and glanced over at Inuyasha who also seemed to be asleep, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and calm.

On the opposite side was Koga, wide awake and staring up at the stars. Kagome tilted her head at him, wondering what he was thinking about so intently.

"Do you remember that question you asked me in the library that one time?" he asked quietly, his voice soft and gentle. Kagome nodded.

"Yeah?"

"Well…" he began, his voice trailing off a little. "I think that I get it now. Why someone would fear finding their soul mate," he decided, thinking out loud.

"Oh?" Kagome asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You think you know exactly how life is supposed to be. You hope that everything is convenient and stays with how you see the world but… it doesn't. There's something uncontrollable about a soul bond, and I think that's what's so scary about it. We can't control it," he explained softly, shaking his head with a sigh. Kagome was quiet as she waited for him to finish, wondering if maybe Inuyasha had felt the same?

Was that why he was so averse to being with her? Was he trying to establish control in his life? Was he worried that things weren't going to go how he planned? The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she felt similarly. Maybe it was just human nature, but there was some part of her that rebelled against any force telling her what she had to do. The conflicting part came from knowing that despite wanting to rebel, she also really wanted to be with him—something that she knew came from emotions that she chose to develop.

Koga was quiet for a few moments longer, looking up into the stars and searching for something—maybe he was looking for the answer to his questions? She couldn't tell, but he kept his head towards the sky as he continued.

"I think I met my soul mate."

* * *

Author's Note: Hey guys! Another chapter down! I'm so sorry for how late it is in the night, but I was really busy today. Nonetheless, I delivered! I hope you guys like this chapter, it setting us up for some nice plot and I personally love Koga, so of course I figured I would have him find his mate.

Now, there is something that I think needs to be addressed and if you still don't really see it after this chapter, I really hope that you see it now. Inuyasha's relationship with Kikyo was toxic. He was not actually happy. Kikyo was controlling and manipulative and if you are a younger reader or haven't really experienced relationships yet, just know that Inuyasha really was not happy with her. Some people don't know that they are in an abusive relationship until after they have already broken up.

Kay, now that that's out of the way, I hope everyone has enjoyed this new chapter! Inuyasha and Kagome are slow moving, but who falls in love in a month? Bear with me!

Bye guys!~~~~

-STH


	9. Chapter 9

Inuyasha was grateful for the respite that this weekend vacation brought. All the aggression he was receiving at school had started to get to him, and he was certain that he would have eventually snapped if it hadn't been for this little trip. His shoulders tensed a little as he thought about all the boys and girls who had been throwing cruel names and words around him as though they knew everything about the situation. He sighed and looked out at the beach water in front of him, wishing that things hadn't ended so poorly. His ears flattened against his head as he remembered the looks Kikyo had been giving him. If he had thought she was cold before, now she was almost scalding with her blazing glares. How she was able to look irate and apathetic towards him at the same time still baffled him.

His ear flicked back at the sound of soft feet hitting the sand, but he didn't have to turn around to know who it was. The way his heart began to race was evidence enough. She sat down beside him, pulling her knees up to her chest and holding them against her. He rested his head on his arm which was propped up by one of his knees and sighed, glancing her way.

"Hey," she greeted quietly, not looking at him as she did so. Her voice made his stomach do somersaults. He grunted in response, letting her know that he was acknowledging her presence. She rested her head on top of her knees and sighed.

"How are things going?" she asked, finally turning her head a little to look at him. He looked away and shrugged. When she didn't get a vocal response, she looked back out at the water. "I'm sorry that people have been so mean to you at school lately," she told him quietly, her voice filled with some kind of warm emotion that made his ears perk up a little. He grunted at her, snorting a little.

"You ain't got nothin' to be sorry for. Besides, it's not like I can't handle it. Takes a lot more than a few names to hurt me," he muttered, looking down at the dimly lit sand. Kagome was quiet for a moment, as if in thought.

"Maybe, but it still hurts, even if it's a little," she commented, looking down at the sand as well and picking some up, watching the grains trickle down to the ground. He glanced her way, watching her hold the sand.

"Feh, whatever," he shrugged, not wanting to be talking about his feelings. "They don't even know what they're talking about. They act like they know me and what happened—they have no clue," he vented, squeezing his hand into a tight fist.

"That's true. Have you told anyone?" she asked softly, looking his way. He snorted.

"Of course not, it's no one's business but mine," he retorted, grimacing slightly.

"Have you tried talking with her about what happened?" she proposed. Inuyasha nulled that over and shrugged.

"She isn't in the mood to talk to me. She isn't too happy with me right now," he answered with a bitter sigh. He found it almost funny that he was talking about his break up with one of the biggest reasons why he and Kikyo had broken up in the first place. "I don't really wanna talk to her anyways," he added quickly, not wanting Kagome to think he was hurting or anything—because he wasn't. Things were better without her, he just needed to get through the rough part where she turned people against him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped a little at the shock that went through his body at the contact, looking over at Kagome with wide eyes. She was sitting there, looking at him with an expression of concern mixed with pity of some sort. It made his stomach turn to see that expression on her.

"What?" he asked grumpily, leaning away slightly, but not enough to actually leave her grip.

"What Kikyo's been doing is really wrong. I know that you really liked her, and I'm sad that things are the way they are right now," she lamented to him, shaking her head. Inuyasha blinked at her, surprise on his features.

He forced himself to tear his gaze away from her, looking down at his balled-up fists. Even though he knew that the bond was making him feel this way, he couldn't help but want to vent to her about all his problems and the things he was feeling inside. He swallowed nervously, glancing back her way.

"Yeah, well… I guess I deserve it a little," he admitted quietly. His logical brain told him to stop talking about his feelings.

 _You'll only get hurt._

His more emotional side wasn't going to listen today, it seemed.

"Why do you say that? No one deserves to be treated the way Kikyo is having people treat you," Kagome retorted, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He frowned and fisted the sand beneath his fingers.

"Remember that thing that happened in the woods? Yeah, I told her about it," he told her bluntly, deciding that the time for dancing around the subject was over. Kagome's eyes widened and she looked at him with a bit of shock.

"Y-you did what?" she stammered, placing a hand to her mouth. He rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say it was _you_ , just that I had done it to _someone_ ," he assured her with a scoff. "Kikyo obviously didn't like that and decided to end things," he explained, sighing a little. "The worst part is… I just don't really miss her."

"That's why you are just taking the insults and not really stopping them—you feel bad that you don't feel bad," Kagome surmised, blinking a little at him in realization. He didn't confirm nor deny her hypothesis but decided to lean back a little and raise his head from his arm.

"We were together for almost a year, but the moment I tell her about you, she just left," he thought aloud, shaking his head. "I gave her everything, but none of it mattered because the only person she cares about is herself," he vented, letting out some of his frustration. "I was willing to throw everything away just to keep her," he muttered, looking down at the sand in his hands. He watched as Kagome moved her hand to hold his gently and looked up at her in surprise.

"That's her loss. Anyone would be lucky to be with you, Inuyasha," Kagome assured him. "You may have been willing to throw everything away, but Kikyo surely did when she decided to leave you," she told him softly, giving him a look that was so tender, Inuyasha wondered if he had ever felt so cared about before.

"Why… why are you saying all of this?" he asked quietly. "I chose Kikyo over you—you should hate me," he told her, shaking his head. She laughed lightly.

"Maybe… It might just be the soul bond, but I just can't bring myself to hate you," she answered him, not yet letting go of his hands. "I feel the same as you. I don't like that I'm being forced into liking someone—I want to be free to choose for myself who I like. Even still… I can't help liking you," she admitted, her gaze intense. He felt his heart pounding, the feeling resonating through his skull as he processed what she was saying. "I don't feel like I'm being forced to like you—I just do. Even if you don't want to feel the same, I just want you to know how I feel," she told him, shrugging a little and moving to let go of his hands. He grabbed hers gently.

"Kagome…" he whispered, somewhat in shock. He knew that she was only saying all of this because of the stupid bond but that same stupid bond made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Still… he couldn't bring himself to tell her the same just yet. He wanted to make sure that his feelings were real and not artificially manufactured. "I…"

"You don't have to say it back. I just had to get that off of my chest. I know that this whole thing has been hard for you, but I want you to know that I'm not expecting anything of you," she assured him softly. He frowned a little, his ears flattening to hear her say such a thing.

 _ **Mate is upset**_ , his demon growled at him, urging him to comfort her.

"It's not you, Kagome. I like you, I do. It's just… this whole thing is so weird and stupid. We barely know each other," he pointed out, looking down at the delicate hand in his own and rubbing the back of it with the pad of his thumb. "And yet… I feel like I've known you forever. This pull is so intense sometimes… I don't know how to deal with it," he confessed, his voice soft and vulnerable. He had to swallow down his pride, knowing that while it was hard to open up about things, Kagome wasn't ever going to be the type of person to dismiss someone's feelings. As strange as it was to admit… he trusted her.

"I feel the same," she agreed, nodding her head. "This kind of stuff doesn't happen every day, but I don't really mind it too much," she confessed as well, looking away. Inuyasha looked at her and felt an emotion so intense, he couldn't begin to describe it in words. It was like his heartbeat was the only thing he could focus on as the pull tightened on his stomach. He just… he wanted to try something.

"Kagome…" he began, his face flushing a bright red. "Could we… I mean… I wanted to try…" he stammered, struggling to get the exact words out. She looked at him and blushed at his proximity, biting her lip for a moment before nodding. He swallowed and leaned forward, inching closer to her face.

 _ **Yessss,**_ his demon purred, urging him on. He closed his eyes and felt her lips come in contact with his own. He almost pulled away at how much the sensation burned him. He heard Kagome sigh and felt her moved a little closer, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek as he kissed her softly. _**Mine. All mine.**_ His demon praised, encouraging Inuyasha to scoop her up in his arms. In this kiss, he felt his future solidify. He felt the world rearranging itself to suit them and saw his life flash before him. The moments when he had felt the most alone were shadowed by this intense feeling of completion. He pulled away and looked at her, flushed and pupils blown out wide, and he allowed himself to give her a lop-sided grin. She looked up at him, a mix of surprise and excitement.

"Did you…?" she asked, though her voice trailed off and left the question hanging in the air. He nodded. He had felt the same thing.

* * *

When the trip was over, Kagome found herself full of things to think about. After that kiss she had shared with Inuyasha on the beach, Sango had called for them to join them on the couch for a movie. Needless to say, it was a little awkward, but Inuyasha and Kagome had decided to let themselves have this one night and cuddled on the couch as the fell asleep. When it was time to leave the next morning, Inuyasha acted as though nothing had ever happened. She figured that would probably act like that, so it came as no surprise that he sat beside her but didn't talk to her. In a way, she almost grateful to him for allowing them to maintain normalcy.

At school the next day, however, things were vastly different.

Apparently, some time over the weekend, Kikyo had managed to get a new boyfriend. The school was abuzz with rumors and gossip about the new boy.

" _Does he look like Inuyasha?"_

" _I've heard that he's waaaay handsomer than her old boyfriend."_

" _Apparently, he's a new transfer student from another demon school."_

" _Do you think Inuyasha will be jealous?"_

" _I've heard that Kikyo's waaay happier with Naraku."_

Kagome was a little shocked to hear the news about Kikyo getting a new boyfriend. It hadn't been all that long since Inuyasha and her had broken up—how had she already gotten a new boyfriend? Kagome frowned a little as she considered the possibility that Kikyo had been cheating on Inuyasha the whole time. Maybe Inuyasha was at home sick because he was too sad to come to school? Maybe he had heard the news? She hoped that wasn't the case and prayed that her friends knew what was going on more than she did.

When Kagome sat with her group at lunch, the first thing she noticed was that they all seemed to be a little annoyed in some way or another. The human sat down beside Sango and frowned a little in concern.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" she asked, noticing that Koga had yet to join them. Miroku sighed and looked at Sango for a moment.

"Have you heard the news?" Miroku asked, raising an eyebrow at Kagome.

"About Kikyo dating a new guy?" Kagome supplied, hoping that that was the news Miroku was talking about. She was grateful when he nodded his head.

"Apparently, they've been talking for a while and only recently decided to become official—do you know what that means?" Sango asked, stabbing at her bento box.

"So… Kikyo _was_ cheating on Inuyasha?" she asked, frowning a little. It made her irate to hear that someone could be so cruel to someone as caring as Inuyasha.

"Not just that—she's been cheating on Inuyasha with _Naraku—_ one of Inuyasha's old bullies," Miroku explained, sighing in frustration. "It's a disgrace. I texted Inuyasha as soon as I found out this morning and he said that he had to stay home."

Kagome's heart broke for the poor half-demon. Even if he didn't miss Kikyo, she was sure that he was upset to find out that he had been cheated on despite all of the love and soul he had poured into their relationship. She felt her hand begin to shake as she became angrier and angrier. How _dare_ someone treat him so poorly! He had been faithful to her even when he had found his soul mate and still, she led him along and turned the whole school against him when he had told her about finding his soul mate. She tried to take deep breaths and think through things logically, but all she could think of was confronting the asshole who had hurt Inuyasha.

She rose up from her chair, the sound making a screeching noise that caused the entire lunchroom to hiss with pain and go silent. Kagome felt her anger rolling off her in waves as she stormed over to the table where Kikyo sat with her new boyfriend, not caring that all eyes were on her. When she reached the table, she slammed a hand down on it and looked the Kikyo girl right in the eyes, taking notice of the hint of surprise on her face.

"You owe Inuyasha an apology," she stated firmly. She watched as Kikyo's eyebrow twitched up and she pulled away a little from the boy who Kagome assumed was her boyfriend. Kikyo gave Kagome a small smirk.

"Oh? And who are _you_ to say such a thing to me?" she posed, her voice cold and chilling. Kagome's fiery anger refused to be put out.

"I happen to be one of his friends. He gave you everything and you cheated on him like it was nothing," Kagome accused, narrowing her eyes at Kikyo. The girl sitting down at the table laughed a little.

"Gave me everything? That's hardly a fair description. Maybe he gave me what he _could_ , but it just wasn't enough," she answered simply, changing her posture slightly to challenge Kagome. "Did he tell you that we broke up because he was cheating on _me_?" she asked, her arms folded over her chest. Kagome's expression remained steadfast and full of rage.

"No, he wasn't. Inuyasha wouldn't never cheat on anyone," she answered resolutely, crossing her own arms across her chest as well. "He cared about you too much to do something like that."

Kikyo regarded Kagome for a moment before narrowing her eyes, piecing something together. "He told me that he found his soul mate and that his true affections lied with her," she answered, tilting her head. "What did you say your name was, again?"

Kagome felt flush, knowing that heat and warmth was rushing to her face as Kikyo told her this. It had caught her off-guard, and it seemed to be enough for Kikyo to tilt her chin.

"I believe this is Kagome Higurashi, the human transfer student," one of Kikyo's friends answered, giving Kagome a glare. Kikyo smiled coldly.

"Well, Kagome, it's been a pleasure having you slander my name, but if you could march yourself back to the corner like the kicked dog you are, I have a lunch I'm trying to finish," Kikyo waved her off coolly, scooting back to Naraku whose eerie gaze never seemed to leave her as she turned around and made her way back to the table. Sango looked at Kagome like she was an alien.

"Are you insane or just asking for a death wish?" she asked, bopping Kagome on the head lightly. "You have just sealed your fate with her—she's going to make your life a literal hell."

Kagome narrowed her eyes and looked down at her bento box. "I know it was reckless… but I was just so tired of hearing all the stupid rumors and lies."

"Hey, let me get a crack at her next, maybe I'll have better luck," she heard a deeper voice say and smiled weakly when she saw that it belonged to Koga. Her eyes widened a little when she saw him. He seemed buffer—more muscled but still soft at the same time. His expression was gentle, though she could still see that fire within.

"Koga… what happened? You look like you've been taking horse steroids," Sango asked, blinking a little as well as she locked her eyes on the demon. Koga laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, looking away slightly.

"Would you believe me if I said I've just been working out a lot?" he asked, chuckling a little.

"Considering you were probably fifty pounds less just yesterday night, no," Miroku answered, a little shocked as well. Koga sighed and sat down at the table, placing his bento box in front of him.

"It's this whole mating bond thing," he answered, running a hand through his bangs. "Apparently, my body is going to go through a few changes in order to compensate for the new power that is going to come with being with Ayame," he answered, looking down a little.

"Wait, so are you dating Ayame?" Kagome asked, her eyebrows raising slightly in surprise. He looked at her with a pink face and shook his head.

"No, but I will eventually. Already, I can feel the pull to go be with her. It's a little annoying, actually," he chuckled, shaking his head. "She really does seem like a nice girl—I just don't want to be in a serious relationship yet—especially with my soul mate. It's a little scary, if I'm honest," he answered, looking down at his food. "It's nice to be stronger, but I don't think being this big is going to be helpful in my track meets," he joked, placing a dumpling in his mouth. Despite all the laughing the rest of the table was doing, Kagome couldn't help but worry over the boy who had stayed home from school that day.

 _I really hope Inuyasha is doing okay._

* * *

"Inuyasha, are you sure there's nothing I can do?" his mother worried, standing at his bathroom doorway as Inuyasha continued to heave and vomit. He attempted to wave her off, but the weak motion of moving his hand sent him into another dry heave. All day he had been like this, either stuck in his bed or running to the bathroom to throw up. He had thought that this whole Bond Fever or whatever would stop after seeing Kagome again. During one of his bed-ridden spells, however, he decided to read up a little on the mating bond and discovered that kissing your intended mate only made the pull worse and the process speed up. Since he was a half-demon, it meant that he was going to keep getting sick unless he was around her at least once a day.

"Sweetheart, I'm worried about you. Tonight's the new-"

"I _know_ what night it is," he snapped, his voice hoarse and weak from the strain of puking. He hadn't meant to be rough with his mother, but he was feeling extremely irritable and worn out.

"Yes, and you are still sick. If you are this sick now, what is going to happen when you don't have your demon strength to sustain you?" she asked, her frown obvious in her tone. Inuyasha felt the last dry heave leave and he slowly tried to get up, his grip failing a little and causing him to trip. Thankfully, his mother was there to catch him and helped him to his bed, petting his hair like she used to when he was a child. He closed his eyes and allowed his mother to dote on him for a bit—knowing it would help her calm down and feel better.

"I'm gunna be alright. You know I will. It's only until morning and I'll probably sleep through most of it," he assured her meekly, not bothering to open his eyes to look up at her. He was just too tired, emotionally and physically.

"I could always call Kagome to come visit you for a little," she suggested gently.

"No!" he let out, summoning enough energy to get that out. His mother look a little surprised and his ears flattened to his head. The truth was that he was still embarrassed. He had just kissed her and completely ignored the fact that she had confessed her feelings for him and he had just simply denied them and then kissed her. The reality of it all made him feel a little sick to his stomach. He wrapped his arms around his middle, not wanting his sore stomach to have to release anything else.

"Are you sure? You would probably feel better," his mother pressed. Inuyasha shook his head.

"Leave her alone."

* * *

When Kagome got there, she was surprised at how disheveled and concerned Inuyasha's mother appeared. She was normally the picture of grace and elegance but right now, she was looking much more like a wild woman.

"I came as quickly as I could. Is everything okay?" she asked her, frowning a little as Izayoi grabbed her arm and led her to Inuyasha's room. Kagome blinked at what she saw and felt that tug in her gut grow stronger as she laid her eyes on the sleeping figure of Inuyasha.

"He's got the Bond Fever and the only way to make it stop is for you to be around him," she explained in a whisper, urging her to go on to him. Kagome blinked and looked at Izayoi with an expression of deep concern.

"He might need to see a doctor, not be around his soul mate," she suggested instead, worried that Izayoi was living in a fantasy world. The mother shook her head and urged her closer.

"I already did, go to him," she whispered before shutting the door behind her as she left. Kagome blushed a little at the door shutting but moved over hesitantly to where she saw Inuyasha resting in a fitful sleep. Her eyes widened as she saw his ears and silver tresses were replaced by normal human ears and ebony locks. He looked… human?

Kagome approached him, kneeling beside his bed. She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to do exactly, since this was more magic healing than actual medical healing, and just looked at him. Even having her a little closer made him seem to calm down a bit, though his sweating continued. What had his mother called it? Bond fever? She was going to have to do more research on that. She was interrupted by the sounds of Inuyasha groaning. Kagome leaned down a little to hear what he had to say, placing a hand on his chest as she did so.

"Ahh," he groaned, his eyes fluttering a little at the contact. She went to move her hands away from his chest but found that his un-clawed hand was on her own, holding her in place gently. He looked up at her, his chocolate eyes revealing a tender emotion she couldn't recall ever seeing on him.

"Kagome… I'm glad… you're here," he told her, his voice scratchy and weak. She blushed, but frowned, not liking how sickly he sounded. He chuckled dryly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, a concerned frown upon her face. He shook his head and gave her a soft smile.

"Better now that you're here," he answered, his voice already sounding a little stronger.

"What happened? Your mom said you have Bond Fever or something?" she asked, watching as he moved her hand to rest against the side of his face.

"Yeah… it's something half-demons get once they meet their soul mate," he answered quietly, seeming distracted. "You have really soft hands," he whispered, closing his tired eyes. Kagome blushed and resisted the urge to her hand away. She loved the feeling of rubbing his cheek with her thumb and began running her hands through his hair.

"Are you going to be okay? What happened to your hair?" she asked, trying to ignore the warmth flooding her chest.

"It's my human night tonight, and yes," he answered, sighing a little.

"W-why… why are you acting like this?" she whispered, scared to ask but knowing that she needed to. He looked up at her and frowned a little.

"It helps me feel better," he answered. "I got the fever from not being around you, so you being here is helping."

They sat there for a little bit, waiting for Inuyasha to get better. As he did, he sat up and merely held her hand in his.

"I heard about what happened at school between you and Kikyo," he told her, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She frowned and looked away.

"Not my best moment… I just couldn't take all the rumors and hearing about her cheating on you just… I couldn't handle it anymore," she answered, shaking her head. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed a little.

"You shouldn't have said anything. She only makes things worse," he scolded her gently before shrugging. "Still, I'm grateful that you tried to stick up for me."

Kagome frowned and shook her head. "How are you dealing with it so well?"

He shrugged. "I was cheating on her too, it's why we broke up."

"We never kissed or talked really," she pointed out. "We barely did anything. How could you have cheated?"

"Easy, I _wanted_ to cheat on Kikyo," he answered with a soft smile. "She didn't have my heart any more, which meant that I was emotionally cheating on her, at least a little," he explained, closing his eyes in thought.

"But… I thought…"

"It hard trying to act like I don't like you, Kagome," he informed her lightly. "I really want to just hold you close and never let go," he admitted, leaning against his wall. Kagome sighed a little, realizing that he must be in a fever dream.

"We need to get you some medicine. You're not in your right mind," she shook her head, moving to try and let go of him.

"Maybe not, but my feelings are still real," he answered with a shrug.

"What?" she whispered, her eyes widening. Hadn't he just told her the other day that he didn't return her feelings?

"What I told you the other day was a lie."

She bit back the overwhelming feeling of excitement and pushed it down, knowing that he wouldn't be saying any of this if he had been well. It was almost cruel.

"Go back to sleep, Inuyasha."

"Okay, but promise you'll visit in my dream?" he asked, yawning as he began to fall asleep.

"Okay," she confirmed.

* * *

Author's Note:

Heyo! So this chapter was a little shortish compared to some of my other chapters. I do apologize, but I'm starting a new school year, so it's a little harder for me to update three times a week. I'm going to try to continue to update three times a week, but we'll see. Thanks for reading!~~~~

-STH


	10. Chapter 10

At school the next day, things had someone gone from bad to worse. Kagome wasn't sure what exactly she had been expecting from the classmates who had seen her during the lunch fiasco the day previous, but what she saw was… disconcerting. As she entered the school, demons and humans alike moved out of her path. The demonic classmates gave her dangerous looks and the human classmates looked away when her eyes met theirs. She blinked, confused by how strangely the students were treating her. When she reached her locker, her eyes widened in surprise. On the door were hundreds of sticky notes, all of which had various heinous names and crude slurs. She covered her mouth, holding back the gasp that threatened to escape her lips. She had heard of things like this in movies and whatnot, but never before had something like this happened to her.

"Hey Kag-What the hell?" Sango greeted but stopped when she saw the mess on her friend's locker. She placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder and shook her head sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I'm guessing Kikyo's cronies are responsible for this."

Kagome shook her head, sighing lightly as she merely opened her locker and pulled out various textbooks that she was going to need for the day. In a way, she sort of understood that this was what she deserved for letting her anger get the best of her. Her mother had always told her that her temper would come back to bite her someday.

"It's fine. I _did_ call her a lying cheater yesterday," Kagome shrugged, closing her locker and starting to clear the sticky notes from off her locker. A group of cheerleaders passed and giggled a little as they saw Kagome trying to take all the sticky notes off. Kikyo was leading them and though she didn't laugh, she did give Kagome a knowing smirk before turning her nose up and continuing down the hall.

"Have you heard from Inuyasha today?" Sango asked, helping Kagome take down all the offensive notes. Kagome blushed a little, remembering the night previous. He had said so many tender things but because he was in a fever dream, he most likely didn't mean any of them and wouldn't remember last night at all.

"I went by to check on him last night, but I haven't seen him since then. He wasn't looking good," Kagome answered with a shrug. She hoped that Inuyasha wouldn't come to school today, not with all the craziness going on between her and pretty much everyone else in the school.

* * *

When Inuyasha woke the next morning to his alarm, he surprisingly felt amazing. He sat up and stretched, finding that his muscles and joints felt loose and flexible already. He grinned a little, pleasantly surprised by how rejuvenated he felt. His hand flexed into a fist a few times, inspecting his claws, and shot out of bed. Last night was a total blur, but now that his fever was gone, he knew that he was feeling so much better. Normally, when he woke from the night of the full moon, he felt sore and over-exerted, but this morning, he was feeling great.

When he entered the kitchen, he greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek and plucked the toast out from the toaster, blowing on it a little and taking a happy bite. His mother watched her son with wide eyes, confused by how chipper he was acting. Her surprised expression morphed into a knowing grin as she leaned against the counter, regarding her son a little smugly.

"Sleep well last night, Inuyasha?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He looked up from his spot at the table and shrugged, snacking on the toast. "You seem to be in a good mood," she observed. He shrugged once again, swallowing.

"Yeah, I'm feelin' pretty alright. That was probably the best sleep I've had in a while," he admitted, stretching a little and raising an eyebrow at his mother's expression. "What?"

She shook her head and waved him off. "Nothing, nothing. Just a passing thought," she answered, deciding against telling Inuyasha about his little visitor last night. He looked at his mother with a confused expression for a moment before wolfing down the rest of his breakfast and kissing her cheek as he left for school.

"See ya later, mom!" he called as he darted out of the house, a bit of a pep in his step.

This was going to be a good day.

At least, that's what he initially thought... until he actually got there.

* * *

What he found when he arrived was the whole school acting ten kinds of crazy. Demons and humans alike gave him weird looks. He rolled his eyes, figuring this was going to be another week of people treating him like trash because he and Kikyo had broken up. He shrugged it off and approached his locker, opening it easily and dropping his backpack off.

"Inuyasha," a voice called him, causing him to turn his head in the direction of that sound. His golden eyes landed on the cold brown orbs of his ex. He sighed, shoving his jacket in the locker, trying to ignore her. "Do not ignore me. You know it won't work."

"Whaddya want, Kikyo? Tryin' to start more trouble?" he asked coldly, closing his locker and leaning against it to face her. She didn't seem phased by his accusation.

"I wanted to inform you about your little… _friend's_ outburst yesterday at lunch. This girl came up to my table and began calling me a liar and a cheater. I'm merely here to inform you to keep your little toys to yourself," she supplied coolly, looking over her nails a little. Inuyasha's eyes widened a little in surprise at that. Maybe it was Sango? She had the fire to do something like that.

"Whatever, Kikyo. I don't have to do anything you say anymore. Get the hell out of here," he warned, turning away from her to start towards class.

"That girl Kagome has quite the mouth on her," Kikyo added, moving away from him as well with a smirk. Inuyasha's heart dropped to the floor for a moment, trying to process what she said and just like that, Kikyo was gone, leading the swarm of cheerleaders that had been passing by. He swallowed nervously, wondering what had provoked Kagome to have an outburst like that?

* * *

After walking to her first class, Kagome sat down in the back, deciding she didn't want to see all the glares her classmates were sending her way. She placed her head on the desk, wondering if she would be able to get away with sleeping through the class. A familiar wolf demon apparently wasn't going to be deterred by her anti-social actions.

"Hey, Kagome. Is everything okay?" he asked, his brows furrowed with worry. Kagome sat up, getting a better view of him and shrugging.

"I feel a little bad about the whole incident. It really wasn't my place to call her out like that. Honestly, it was just really dumb to approach her at all. It'll all be over with in a week or so," she answered, giving Kagome a reassuring smile. The wolf grinned.

"I admire your optimistic attitude, Kagome. For their sake, it'd better end quickly. I've already had to put a few demons in their place this morning," he chuckled, holding his bicep up and giving it a light smack. Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled despite herself. He always knew what to say to make people laugh and feel better.

"You don't have to beat people up for me, Koga," she laughed, brushing him off. He scoffed.

"For you? It was for me. I needed a good fight," he joked, grinning a little. "But really, maybe you should stick around me for a bit? Just until the demons chill out?" he suggested, giving her a small smile that she could tell was laced with concern.

"You'll do it anyways even if I say no, so I might as well go along with it," she laughed lightly, watching as he gave her a wink.

* * *

At lunch, Kagome sat in the group's usual spot and waited for the others to show up. Sango was the first to arrive, plopping down beside her friend and sticking closer to her than usual. Kagome rolled her eyes, figuring that it was just more protective behavior from her overly dramatic friends.

"Hey Sango, it's nice to see you too," she greeted sarcastically, nudging her friend playfully. Sango sighed and looked at Kagome with a bit of a laugh.

"Sorry, I've just been worried all day. Kikyo has ways of messing with your head and her boyfriend looks just as dangerous," she answered, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Guys, it's going to be okay. If anything happens, I'll just go to the principal," Kagome supplied with a shrug.

"Kagome, I'll remind you once again—this is a school of demons. Just because they can't do what they want _in_ school, doesn't mean that they aren't going to do what they want _outside_ of school," Sango pressed, her brows furrowed in worry.

"All I did was call Kikyo a cheater, she'll get over it eventually," Kagome defended, shaking her head as she opened her bento box.

"Ladies," Miroku greeted as he and Koga approached the table, both appearing rather calm despite everything going on. Sango perked up a little at seeing Miroku and Koga and invited them to take a seat.

"Jeez Kagome, you're really stirrin' everyone up today," Koga laughed, sitting on the other side of Kagome, a little closer than usual as well. Unlike Sango, Koga had a natural demonic aura that seemed to be a little more amplified today. She glanced over at him, realizing that he was squirming just a bit more and his muscles were flexed slightly. Her brows furrowed, turning her head to look down at her bento box. She hadn't realized how much this whole situation was worrying all her friends. Well, if she thought Koga was looking rough…

When she felt that familiar tug and glanced up, what she saw nearly made her jaw drop.

It was Inuyasha, his expression grim and angry. He seemed entirely on edge, his movements jerky and sharp, his eyes darting around suspiciously. She blinked at how crazed and stressed he looked and wondered if this was just a demon thing.

"Woah, he looks like shit…" Koga swore in a whisper, shaking his head and chuckling dryly at Inuyasha's expense.

"What's going on?" Kagome whispered to Sango, now actually worried.

"When demons feel like someone they are loyal to is being threatened, they get a little edgy," Sango answered in a whisper as well, apparently equally shocked by Inuyasha's appearance.

The group watched as several lesser demons cowered away from the angry half-demon, clearly not wishing to be in the way of his path. A couple tried to approach and challenge him, but one low growl sent them away. When he finally reached the table, he moved where Koga and Sango were sitting and merely narrowed his eyes at them. Koga refused to move, but Sango knew that this would probably happen and so moved over to make space for the half-demon. When he sat down, he made sure that he was close enough to Kagome that they were touching and let out a sigh. Kagome felt it, too—that sense of calm that only Inuyasha could bring her. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing through his nose to calm down for a few moments before regarding Kagome seriously.

"I leave ya for a day and you make a mess of the whole school," he teased, raising an eyebrow at her. She blushed at that and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't miss school so much," she shrugged. He snorted at that.

"I was sick with the flu, thank you very much. Now, what's all this junk about Naraku being back?" the silver-haired boy asked, looking to Miroku for the information. The escort sighed a little.

"Yes, he and Kikyo were officially announced as a couple sometime over the weekend," he answered. "He apparently transferred only recently."

"Why the hell would the principal let _him_ in? She knows how shitty he is," Inuyasha retorted, glancing over at the table on the far side of the room where Kikyo and her posse usually sat.

"My guess is that his parents bribed the school or something," Koga offered, stabbing at his food.

"No way, the Principal wouldn't allow herself to be bribed," Sango rejected that idea, shaking her head. "Maybe he moved back in town and she _had_ to let him in?"

Kagome listened to the conversation intently, trying to piece everything together when she felt a warm arm snake it's way around her waist. She blinked and blushed, not bothering to look down. If the chills sent down her spine were any indication, she knew exactly who it was. She glanced up at him, pretending to listen to what he was saying but in actuality, she was studying his face and the different ways it moved and expressed his emotion. She could see the faintest hint of pink dusting his cheeks. He didn't hold her tightly, in fact, it was such a light hold that she nearly wondered if he still had his arm around her. Thankfully, the warmth in her stomach and chills shooting through her spine assured her that it was still going on. She almost wondered why he was feeling so upset about what she had done but remembered that it was most likely the mating bond that was forcing him to feel inclined to hold her and protect her. The thought almost made her frown, but she couldn't possibly be unhappy with him right there beside her.

"Kagome?" Sango asked, pulling her out of her fantasy.

"Huh? What?" she asked, blinking and whipping her gaze away from Inuyasha to Sango. The girl met Kagome with a knowing smirk but seemed to keep her opinions to herself.

"I was asking how your aunt was doing," her escort asked her once again. Kagome shrugged.

"Not really any worse than usual, but then again, I don't really have much basis for comparison," she answered honestly, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"I was just wondering because we were thinking about having a group sleepover this weekend. We could do it at your aunt's place if you wanted," Sango answered, smiling softly at Kagome. The transfer student mulled it over for a moment. Would her aunt even notice a bunch of high schoolers? She frowned at that thought. Her aunt barely noticed when she came home to make her dinner and help her take her medicines. Kagome gave Sango a shrug.

"I can ask, or we could just do it at someone else's place," she replied, trying to not let her sad thoughts taint her words.

"We could have it at Inuyasha's. He's got a huge house," Koga suggested, grinning at the way Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"I don't want you guys at my house. You might break something," he answered gruffly, denying the thought.

"Wait now, Inuyasha," Miroku scolded. "You have several guest bedrooms. Yours would be the ideal house for us to have a sleepover at," he pointed out, trying to get his friend to see reason. Inuyasha snorted and shook his head.

"That doesn't change anything."

"C'mon, please?" Sango asked, frowning a little. Kagome watched as Inuyasha looked down at her face and his expression seemed to soften for a moment before shrugging.

"If you guys are really wantin' to come over that badly, I ain't gunna stop ya," he shrugged, looking down at his food and shoving some ramen into his mouth with his free hand.

"What's this?" the group heard a voice ask. They turned slightly to see Kikyo and her looming boyfriend, Naraku looking down at them. "I come over to offer a truce but…" her eyes landed on the arm Inuyasha had around Kagome. His grip tightened around her waist. "It appears things are progressing just as I thought they would," she commented, narrowing her eyes. Kagome frowned, her brows furrowing.

"Get outta here, Kikyo," Inuyasha warned. "You _and_ your rat of a boyfriend," he spat, glaring daggers at Naraku. The boyfriend smirked a little, seemingly amused by Inuyasha's outburst.

"I see you haven't changed a bit," Naraku commented, looking at Inuyasha for a moment before his eyes fell onto Kagome. "A pleasure to see you once again, Kagome."

Kagome felt an overwhelming wave of disgust rush through her senses. This man was cold, dangerous, and he most definitely was _not_ pleased to see her again.

"You can shut your shit mouth, Naraku, and get the hell outta here 'fore you start somethin' you can't stop," Inuyasha swore, growling at the couple.

Naraku seemed genuinely pleased.

"You couldn't stop me then, what makes you think you could stop me now?" he asked, raising a thin eyebrow at Inuyasha. The half-demon snarled at him.

"I'll rip you apart with my bare hands if you don't get the hell away from my table, shit-face," he ground out once more, his voice lower this time. Kagome watched as Kikyo placed a hand on her boyfriend's forearm.

"Let's go, Naraku," she bid coolly but halted when she realized that Naraku wasn't following her. He stood there, staring down at Inuyasha with a cruel grin on his face.

"Is that a promise?" the demon asked, his red eyes narrowing and his grin widening. Inuyasha rose from the table in one swift motion, snarling directly at the demon who was roughly the same height as he was.

"You bet it is, now scram," he warned one last time, obviously not going to allow this to go down any longer. Naraku's eyes remained on Inuyasha's for a few moments longer before falling onto Kagome's with a cold, cruel smile. It sent shivers through her body—cold, disgusting ones that made her want to take a shower to scrub off his stare.

"Very well. Just for this one time," he bid, waving as he began to walk away with his girlfriend. When he was only a few feet away, he turned his head to look at Inuyasha one last time. "Take care of Kagome," he warned, snickering a little.

What happened next, happened too fast for any of the humans to fully register.

* * *

Something about Naraku saying anything remotely similar to a threat to Kagome made him lose it. Inuyasha's vision went into a hazy red. He remembered slashing, clawing, and some punches, but he couldn't remember if he had been the one doing it or if he had been the one receiving it. When he came to, he was being held back by several of the demon faculty, blood dripping down his chin. Some was his, but he couldn't say for certain if the liquid exclusively belonged to him. He was being dragged down to the principal's office, still groggy from the blackout. All he could hope was that Kagome and his group weren't going to get into any trouble. He could get in plenty of trouble, but he knew that things were much less guaranteed for them. When the demon faculty finally sat him down in the principal's office, he looked around, his tired eyes landing on a familiar figure.

"Ah, if it isn't Inuyasha. Mr. Takahashi, you seem to have been have quite a rough time lately. Sick with bond fever, breaking up with Kikyo, and now a fight with your childhood bully. If you were wanting my attention, I would have much rather you just called," the principal scolded, shaking her head.

"Eh, whuuu?" he groaned, not able to get much out. The principal sighed and shook her head.

"Normally, I would have to expel you for an incident like this, you do know that, right?" she clarified, looking down at the bruised boy.

"Mmmm," he shrugged, the motion rag-doll-like. He heard the woman sigh before placing her head in her hands.

"What were you thinking? He's a full-blooded demon—he could have killed you," she reminded him. He cleared his eyes, wiping the blood onto his shirt sleeve, and looked up at her.

"It's not like I was _wanting_ to fight him. He started it," he answered. "He came over to my table and started making threats and being a douchebag."

The principal sighed, knowing that it was useless trying to reason with the stubborn dog demon.

"We'll have to send you home and suspend you for at least a week. I should be doing far worse," she reminded him, narrowing her eyes. Inuyasha shrugged.

"He was going to hurt someone. I don't feel bad at all," he defended, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll have to call your mother and father," she sighed, moving behind her desk to take out her cell phone.

"Aw hell, c'mon, Aunt Inukimi, don't call mom and dad. They'll be pissed," he groaned, covering his eyes with his hands.

"Your father will kill me if I don't," she replied. "Also, I'm not your aunt. I'm more like your step-mother," she corrected him with a roll of her eyes.

"Aunt is just easier," he muttered, frustrated that she was calling his mother.

"Yes, Izayoi? We need you and Toga to come to the school… Yes, you have to pick Inuyasha up… Yes, he's in trouble," she confirmed, pausing every so often to listen to his mother speak. Inuyasha groaned as he listened to his mother's concerned voice over the phone. "Okay, yes, thank you… see you both in a bit," she bid as she hung up and looked at Inuyasha with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Honestly, Inuyasha, this kind of behavior just isn't acceptable. You'll be lucky if he doesn't press charges," she pointed out to him with a raised eyebrow. Inuyasha scoffed at that.

"With what? He's too poor to afford a lawyer," he shot back but seemed to slink down when his gaze was met with the disapproving eyes of his father's ex-wife.

"Enough of that. Go to the nurse's office to get bandaged up, your parents will be here shortly for us to have a little talk," she instructed him, waving him away so that she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. He sighed and got out of the chair, making his way over to the nurse's office.

 _And the day had started out so promising_...

* * *

When the fight had been going on, Kagome hadn't been sure what to do other than get the hell out of their way. Once the fight started to be more obviously in Naraku's favor, Kagome ran out to the hallway to grab a couple teachers to break up the fight. By then, Inuyasha was already mostly unconscious anyway and had gone without much resistance. Naraku, however, seemed entirely calm and composed almost the entire time. When the teachers came to pull them apart, he let go without any opposition, holding his hands up to prove that he was done. While the faculty led the two boys out of the lunchroom, Naraku looked at Kagome, grinning and giving her a wink. The motion made her freeze and go cold, inching closer to Koga, who was protectively blocking her from the whole scene.

"What… just happened?" Kagome whispered, unsure as to how they had gotten here in the first place. Sango glanced Kagome's way and shook her head, unable to form a reasonable explanation for what had just happened.

"That was… something else," Miroku muttered, shaking his head as well.

Kagome couldn't remember a single time when she had seen this kind of wild and crazed violence between to seemingly human individuals. Neither boy had held anything back—or so she thought. Secretly, she wondered if Naraku had been toying with Inuyasha the whole time… his body language certainly suggested such a sentiment. Something about his expression... she had the sinking feeling that while he might have finished the fight, the battle was far from over.

* * *

Author's Note:

Man oh man guys. This one had a lot more plot for y'all. I hope you enjoyed it. There will be more fluff to come, but angst is in the immediate future. As always, thanks for reading! Leave reviews if you liked what I did. The motivation is real when I can tell people are liking what I'm doing. See ya!~~~

-STH


	11. Chapter 11

"Care to explain yourself this time, Inuyasha?" his father asked, standing in his doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. His mother had picked him up from school not too long ago and now that his father was home, she had apparently filled him in on the situation. The younger dog demon crossed his arms over his chest, looking away from his father with his good eye. Though the nurse had cleaned him up and he healed much quicker than most humans, he still was only a half-demon and so he figured that it probably wouldn't fully be healed for several more hours.

"I got in a fight," he stated sardonically, his shoulders shrugging slightly. His father moved further into his room, looking at his son with a raised eyebrow which Inuyasha knew meant that now wasn't the time for sass. "Naraku got transferred into our school and now he's datin' Kikyo," he explained, rolling his eyes. "Kikyo's got the whole school breathin' down my neck and apparently Kagome went and told her off," he continued, sighing.

"Right," his father nodding, keeping up.

"So Kikyo and Naraku come to our table today and start talking crap, so I told them to get lost and Naraku was all 'take care of Kagome' and I snapped," he finished, glancing over at his father who was smirking. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"I'm proud of you," he stated simply, his expression softening as he regarded his son for a moment. Inuyasha raised a surprised eyebrow at him.

"Excuse me? Did you say you're proud of me for getting into a fight?" Inuyasha asked, narrowing his eyes at his father. Toga shook his head initially, then shrugged and moved to sit down on the end of his son's bed.

"To tell you the truth, I would have done the same thing. You weren't fighting because he made you mad, you fought because you were trying to protect your friends," he explained, looking at his son with a mixture of approval and pride. Inuyasha blinked, not sure how he had managed to make his dad happy, but the feeling made him beam.

"Yeah, well… I wasn't about to let that ba-baaaad guy hurt my friends," he shrugged, having to catch himself from using a bad word in front of his father. Toga chuckled a little at his son's attempt to censor himself and sighed.

"Regardless, you need to be more careful about who you fight and how. Naraku is stronger and bigger than you. It isn't wise to take him on by yourself," he explained, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "Oh, also… your mother was quite upset when she saw how hurt you were so… you're on house arrest," he informed his son, getting up from his bed.

"What?! That's ridiculous!" Inuyasha protested, shaking his head.

"No, what's ridiculous was your mother calling me, crying, worrying that her son was turning into a hoodlum and that it was her fault for being a bad mother," he corrected his son, crossing his arms over his chest again. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. He hadn't meant to worry his mom.

"I…" he started but was unable to finish his sentence. His father waved him off.

"She'll be okay. Just stop fighting people in places where you could get caught," he warned, shaking his finger at his son. It wasn't that his father was condoning violence, it was that his father held a strong believe in protecting those you love, by any means necessary.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Yeah, whatever," he agreed, looking away from his father for a moment and rolling his eyes. Toga chuckled and glanced at his son's bedside table where the book he had given Inuyasha still sat.

"Have you given that book a try yet?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Inuyasha glanced at the book and shook his head.

"Nah, too big and bulky," Inuyasha snorted, obviously teasing his father. "I haven't gotten around to it."

"You should really give it a chance. You might be surprised at how useful it is," he advised, raising an eyebrow. Inuyasha shrugged.

"I've been preoccupied."

His father seemed to nod for a moment before giving his son a knowing smile and waving him goodnight.

"Sleep well, son."

"Yeah, you too."

* * *

Over the course of the week, things at school had gone from bad to worse. Humans regularly shouted obscenities Kagome's way. When they weren't shouting at her, they were trying to throw papers and other items at her that usually had crude drawing and words scribbled all over them. Thankfully, Koga had been like a magnet and made sure to catch each item before they could hit her. He had remained vigilant and hovered around her like a guard dog. Kagome felt both grateful and guilty. She was putting Koga in the middle of the mess that she and Inuyasha had created. As it was, Kagome was waiting outside for Koga and the others to join her on their walk to the burger joint. It was Friday, so they were heading to Inuyasha's directly after to spend the weekend there.

At the thought of Inuyasha, Kagome's heart clenched, and she felt almost dizzy. His mother had called her over a few nights when his fever had gotten bad, but she was only allowed to stay until he fell asleep since she had to get back to her aunt and work on homework. Something about the lack of time that she got to spend with Inuyasha made her anxious and nervous all over. Normally. Just being able to see him every day was enough, but after feeling his arm around her waist, holding her protectively to his body… she needed to be close to him. Even if it were just a hug, she needed to be with him again.

"Ah, hello, Kagome," a voice greeted her from behind. She whipped around and sighed in relief when her eyes landed on the faces of Miroku and Sango.

"Oh, hey guys. You surprised me there for a second," she laughed lightly, rubbing the back of her neck and looking around for a moment. "Where's Koga?"

"He's uh… a little tied up at the moment…" Sango answered carefully, looking away from Kagome's curious gaze. "He told us to just wait until he's done. It shouldn't be too long," she supplied shrugging with a reassuring smile. Kagome raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Ooookay…" she muttered, narrowing her eyes at Miroku for a moment, hoping that he would spill the beans. He merely looked away, not wanting to fall victim to Kagome's nosiness.

"Ah, there we go," Miroku smiled after a few minutes of heavy silence. Kagome turned and blinked at how Koga was proudly sauntering over to the group. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him looking so smug and pleased with himself. When he reached the group, he gave Kagome a wink and that was when Kagome noticed some of the scratches and bruises on his face. She frowned at him and he shrugged.

"Either I take care of them, or they try to 'take care of you'," he supplied, grinning a little at her and ruffling her hair. "Let's get some burgers, I'm starving."

* * *

To say that the past week had been torture would be an understatement. He wasn't allowed to leave his room, wasn't allowed to have guests, and wasn't allowed to have his phone to talk to anyone. It really did feel like he was in prison. He stared up at the ceiling, arms behind his head as sweat dripped down the sides of his face. His mother had made sure to take good care of him, never letting him go hungry or thirsty and often sitting in his room to keep him company, but the entire situation felt like overkill. It was just one measly fight—what was so wrong about that? He had been in tons of fights in the past.

He sighed and shook his head, glancing at the window across from him. It had been so hard to not see Kagome all week. No matter how he replayed the situation, he couldn't see himself reacting any differently. Naraku was not only a threat to him, but to his friends as well. The dog demon snarled a little at the thought of his childhood bully and brought one of his clawed hands in front of his face, forming a tight, angry fist. That bastard thought it was okay for him to just make open threats to his group and Inuyasha not do anything about it? His ears flattened to his head a little. Knowing that he hadn't won the fight hurt his pride.

A knock on his door brought his thoughts to a close.

"Come in," he called, sitting up a little, sighing.

"Inuyasha, your friends are here," his mother told him with a smile. He nodded, trying to shove that bit of excitement in his stomach down. His mother had been opposed to the idea of him having any friends over, but since the suspension had been for the rest of the week, he managed to convince his mother to allow his friends to come over once school was over on Friday. He mentioned that Kagome was going to be there, and she had been entirely supportive of it. The memory made his face tinge pink and he fought back the smile that threatened to stain his expression at the thought of seeing Kagome again. He wasn't sure how he had managed to survive the week without seeing her, as he started flaring up a fever almost every day. Weirdly enough, when he woke up Wednesday and Thursday, he had felt perfectly fine. Maybe the bond fever was starting to go away? He wiped the sweat from his face, feeling that pull in his gut begin to tighten. He was grateful that she was going to be there, but only because that meant that he was going to feel better afterwards.

That's what he told himself.

"Thanks, mom," he told her as he sat up, feeling a little light-headed. His mother smiled knowingly at him and moved to help him up. He leaned on her slightly for support, giving her a hug as he rose to stand uprightly.

When he reached his friends downstairs, his eyes locked onto Kagome's, making the world pause for a single moment. He felt the corner of his lip twitch upward, his gaze softening the second that he saw that soft smile she always seemed to have on her face. She blushed under his scrutiny and he had to pull his eyes away from her, allowing the world to move again.

"He lives! We thought you were a goner for sure," Koga snickered, greeting Inuyasha with the typical snarkiness that he seemed to reserve solely for Inuyasha. The dog demon rolled his eyes and accepted the fist bump that Koga offered him.

"Psh, as if I'd be so easy to get rid of," he rolled his eyes, giving Miroku a fist bump as well and allowing Sango to give him a light hug.

"Your face looks much better," Miroku commented.

"Can't fix ugly though," Koga snorted, elbowing Kagome lightly. Inuyasha growled at Koga, glaring at him playfully.

"You would know," he shot back with a smirk, enjoying seeing his friends once again. Not being able to do anything for a week had been torture for someone as active as he was.

"I'm glad you're okay," Kagome offered softly, rubbing her arm and looking at the ground bashfully. Inuyasha's ears perked up at that and his flushed face turned away from her.

"Yeah… thanks…" he mumbled quietly before Miroku patted his back, disrupting his thoughts.

"Alright kids, would you all like your own rooms or would you like to sleep downstairs in the theater together?" his mother asked, clapping her hands and looking around the group.

"We'll sleep in the theater," Miroku supplied, smiling at Inuyasha's mother innocently. Inuyasha watched as Sango narrowed her eyes at Miroku and scooted away from him slightly.

"Alright, Inuyasha, would you show them downstairs? I'll have your father bring down the bedding when he gets home," she asked of her son, smiling softly at him. He nodded, giving her a hug before moving to head downstairs.

* * *

Kagome blinked, a little surprised by the public display of affection towards his mother in front of all his friends—especially Koga. She hadn't stuck him as someone who would feel comfortable being affectionate in front of people, but she supposed that it was a good thing for him to do, so she didn't dwell on it too much. As they moved downstairs, Kagome's eyes widened slightly when she laid her eyes upon the basement. It was quite possibly the largest basement that she had ever seen. Then again, she hadn't seen many basements since they lived in Japan and most basements held a high risk for flooding. Inuyasha led them to the theater which held a few rows of comfortably padded seating and a large area in front of the large white screen where Kagome assumed they would be sleeping. There were already a few beanbags along the walls and Kagome smiled as Sango jumped and relaxed into one.

Inuyasha leaned against the doorframe and watched them for a moment.

"Did you guys want to watch a movie or somethin'?" he asked casually, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but not for a little while," Sango answered, looking at Inuyasha for a moment. Kagome nodded, taking a seat on one of the large, plush beanbags meant for two people. Koga plopped down in one right beside her and got comfortable. Inuyasha seemed to nod for a moment before moving to the back of theater. A few moments later, he came back with a large remote in his hands and claimed a soft, red beanbag.

"So… anything interesting happen while I was away?" Inuyasha asked, apparently trying to make conversation.

"Yes, well, things began to spiral out of control after you and Naraku fought," Miroku answered, looking at Inuyasha with a bit of a smirk.

"Whaddya mean?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

"People have been a lot more vocal about their feelings towards you and Kagome," Sango answered carefully, not wanting to bring the more violent threats she had been receiving. Koga grumbled a little, knowing that telling Inuyasha about it would only piss him off and make him moody for the rest of the night.

Inuyasha grumbled as well, obviously displeased by that.

"People need to mind their own goddamn business," he answered with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes, well, after seeing you and Kagome together, Kikyo's been spreading rumors about the two of you," Miroku informed him with a sigh. "They've been quite annoying to disprove."

"Psh, as if Kagome would ever sleep with you," Koga rolled his eyes, snorting at the thought. Kagome blushed and looked away at that.

"Koga!" she scolded, shaking her head. Koga chuckled.

"It's alright, I've put quite a few of those rumors to rest, so don't you worry," he grinned, obviously pleased with himself. Inuyasha glared at Koga, obviously wanting to strangle him.

"Anyways, things with Kikyo have only gotten worse since the fight," Miroku explained, shaking his head.

"On the plus side, it's the weekend, so we don't have to worry about all the craziness at school," Kagome offered, trying to bring the mood up once again. All the talk about the drama at school was making everyone frustrated and worried. "How about we play some games?"

"Like what?"

* * *

"Alright, go ahead, you get to spin it and whoever it lands on is the person you ask truth or dare," Kagome explained, placing the bottle in the center of the circle. Inuyasha gave her a look for a moment.

"This is a really weird game, are you sure this is how you play it?" Inuyasha asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, it's more of a hybrid of spin the bottle and truth or dare, but I like it better like this," she answered with a shrug.

"Just go for it, Inuyasha," Sango nodded, smiling with encouragement. Kagome watched as Inuyasha rolled his eyes and spun the bottle, landing on Koga. Inuyasha smirked.

"I dare you-"

"No, you have to ask him 'truth or dare' and them he gets to pick," Kagome corrected Inuyasha, stopping him for he could finish. The dog demon huffed a little and sighed.

"Koga, truth or dare?" he recited, sounding a little bored.

"Give me a dare," the wolf demon challenged, grinning at his challenger. Inuyasha smirked at that and nodded.

"I dare you to sit upside down until someone lands on you again," he offered, knowing the dare wasn't too crazy, but still a good one to warm up with. The wolf demon rolled his eyes with a snort.

"Easy," he remarked, moving around in his beanbag so that he was upside down. Kagome giggled a little at the way his bangs hung down, revealing his face a little more. Inuyasha rolled the bottle over to Koga and watched as the demon struggled for a moment to spin it. When the glass bottle landed on Sango, Koga smirked.

"Truth or Dare?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Sango shrugged.

"Truth," she answered, raising an eyebrow at the wolf demon.

"Alright, what's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"

Sang blushed at that and looked down at her hands.

"Uh… one time, I was at a swim meet and I accidentally put on a suit that was too small. When I moved to get out of the pool, the top of my suit moved and uh… I basically flashed my team," she answered, her face growing pink with shame. The group giggled a little at that, not believing that Sango would actually let something like that happen to her. She shook her head and hurried to take the bottle and spin it. She sighed when it landed on Kagome.

"Alright, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Kagome answered, grinning at Sango. Knowing Sango, the girl probably would ask her to do anything too crazy.

"Hmmm, I dare you and Inuyasha to switch clothes," she decided, surprising the group. Inuyasha blinked and gave Sango a look.

"Are you crazy? I could never fit her clothes!" he protested, shaking his head. "Plus, this is her dare—don't involve me," he reasoned, still shaking his head.

Sang seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, then Kagome, I dare you to wear some of Inuyasha's clothes," she amended, still grinning. Kagome blushed and glanced at Inuyasha. He seemed to protest silently before huffing and relenting, getting up and fetching some of his night clothes from a bag he had brought downstairs with his things. He handed the t-shirt and shorts to her with red cheeks and sat back in his spot.

Kagome looked down at the plie of clothes in her hands and hurried over to the bathroom in the back of the room. She changed into the outfit and sighed as her heart raced. Smelling him all over her just… it made her feel so safe. She shivered a little and tried to remind herself that it was just the bond talking.

When she joined the group again, everyone giggled at how over-sized the outfit was, but Inuyasha had this intense gaze that seemed to penetrate her heart. Was that… possession?

"Your turn, Kagome!" Sango called, pulling the poor girl out of her day dream. Kagome blinked and moved forward slightly, her new clothes hanging from her body, and spun the bottle. When it landed on Miroku, she folded her arms across her chest.

"Truth or Dare?"

Miroku seemed to think it over for a moment before shrugging. "Truth."

"Do you have a crush on anyone right now?" she asked, grinning as he seemed to stiffen at that. It only lasted a moment, however, as he relaxed and nodded.

"Yes, of course I'm interested in someone," he answered smoothly, looking directly at Sango. The female escort's eyes widened, and she threw a pillow at the boy.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" he asked with a chuckled before spinning the bottle. It landed on Koga and the wolf-demon sighed in relief as he fell forward to make himself right-side up. He held his head, blinking a few times as the blood rushed back to the rest of his body.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Koga answered, obviously wanting to take a moment to recuperate. Miroku thought about it for a moment, as he did with most things, before asking his question.

"Do you have a crush on Kagome?" Miroku asked, leaning forward with his hand under his chin. Koga seemed to blush at that and glanced Kagome's way. Kagome's eyes widened at the question, knowing that Miroku surely already knew how Koga felt about her. So then why was he asking such a question?

"We get one pass, right?" he asked, looking Kagome's way. She nodded. "Then I'm going to use my pass for that," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Fair enough. Here you go," Miroku nodded, handing over the bottle to Koga. He spun the bottle and landed on Inuyasha.

"Truth or Dare?"

Kagome watched as Inuyasha seemed to think about it for a split second.

"Truth."

"Dang, I thought I was going to be able to get back at you for the headstand thing," Koga grumbled before rolling his eyes. "Fine. Inuyasha, you haven't been sick with the flu, what have you actually been sick with?" Koga asked, grinning a little.

Inuyasha blushed and looked away, wrestling with himself.

"Can I pass?" he asked. Koga snorted in response.

"Yep, but that's your only one," Koga warned, rolling the bottle to him.

"Hey guys, I think we need to make a new rule. Let's not ask about romantic things. No love lives or crushes, okay?" Kagome offered, knowing that it would get really awkward if they started talking about the various crushes in the group. Things were supposed to move at a natural progression, not through a silly party game.

The group seemed to agree with this new rule enthusiastically.

* * *

Once the game was over and things had settled down, Inuyasha put on a movie for them to watch. Kagome hadn't yet changed out of his clothes, and Inuyasha hadn't seemed to mind much. In fact, he went upstairs and grabbed a new pair of pj's to wear. The gesture made Kagome feel warm inside. When the movie started, Kagome and Inuyasha sat near each other, but at it continued, the pull became stronger and the eventually inched their way to sitting together in Kagome's beanbag. He held her in his arms casually, one arms draped behind her with the other resting comfortably in his lap. She felt her heart racing wildly, their skin burning at the touch they shared. Kagome glanced at the others and found that they had already managed to drift to sleep.

The girl looked up at Inuyasha, deciding he was much more interesting than the moving playing on the big screen. She watched the way the lighting changed the shadows on his face and the way his muscles moved as he breathed. He glanced down at her after a while and grinned when she looked away quickly. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and pulled her closer to him, sighing happily as they enjoyed the feeling of holding one another.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, seeing you all sick was really scary" she admitted quietly. He nodded before blinking and looking at her with wide, surprised eyes.

"What do you mean by sick?" he asked, moving away from her slightly.

"The other night? Your mom called me because your fever wouldn't go down," she answered, blinking at him a little before realizing that he had absolutely no idea that she even knew about that.

"Wait… when was this?" he asked, a bit of panic in his voice.

"Uh… which time?" she asked quietly, shrinking a little in embarrassment.

Inuyasha blinked at looked at her in stunned silence. He couldn't even find the right words. His eyes narrowed after a moment.

"Mom…"

* * *

The lights were all off in the house, the only sounds moving through the home were the creaks of the shutters and the window units scattered throughout the barn home. A shadow creeped across the ceiling, moving away from the moonlight and slinking silently up the stairs. In the upstairs loft, Buyo the cat retreated into his cat home, shaking in fear at the moving shadow crawling along the ceiling. The shadow seemed to hover over the pink bed in the room before slinking back out into the hall.

The shadow entered a smaller room downstairs, looming in the corner and gathering together as it lurked over the bed beneath it. In the bed, laid a snoring woman, sleeping peacefully and dreaming of nothing. The shadow slithered down the corner of the wall, gathering just over the head of the sleeping figure. The woman seemed to stir a bit, muttering something unintelligible before drifting back off into the unconscious darkness.

The shadow seemed to stay there for a moment, just above her head, before growing larger. As it did so, the woman seemed to whimper and shrink away from the shadow but was unable to wake from her fitful rest. When the shadow was finished tormenting the poor, tired soul, it raised back into the ceiling and slipped out through the window nearby. The figure seemed to solidify for several moments before heading off into the night, using the cover of the woods as it's accomplice. Whatever had plagued the old barn house was now gone as quickly as it had come, moving as though a thief in the night.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Ahh, so spoopy! Hope you guys liked this one! It's pretty cute and a good length. As always, tell me what you like! Thanks so much for reading and make sure to review! See ya!~~~~~

-STH


	12. Chapter 12

That next morning, Inuyasha found himself unable to get himself to move from the spot where he had been resting. There was a comfortable heat to his side, a gentle pressure on his chest, and a pounding in his heart that somehow hadn't woken him up fully until just then. He forced his eyes to open, blinking the sleep away and shifting slightly to snuggle into the warmth coming from the body laying beside his. He sighed contently, burying his nose in the scent of lavender. His ears flickered to the sound of an equally content sigh coming from just beside him. It was Kagome, of course. She was still asleep—he could tell by the way her heart gently rattled around in her ribcage. If she had been awake, she surely would've had her heart racing, just as his was.

It was almost hard to breathe with how fast it beat against his chest, but the swelling feeling he felt in his heart made him close his eyes. He wanted to keep this moment in his head forever.

 _ **Mate…**_ his demon purred in appreciation, the action actually making his nose nuzzle into her hair as the growl in his head transferred to his actual chest. The girl beside him seemed to tighten her grip on his shirt and he listened to her heart begin to pick up speed. Inwardly, he kicked his demon for waking the poor sleeping thing. That and… now he had to get up.

"I-Inuyasha?" he heard her mutter sleepily, obviously not entirely awake yet. He sighed and pulled away from her.

Well… he tried to.

It was like he was glued to her. He couldn't pull himself from her, even if he tried.

 _ **No. Mate.**_ His demon protested, growling at him. That growl made its way through his own chest and he picked up the scent of her fear burning his nose. He coughed, pulling his head away and desperately covering his sensitive nostrils. That seemed to wake Kagome up right away. Her eyes blinked open, now wide and worried and locked onto his. He coughed a little more, knowing that he needed to calm her down.

"Good god… what the hell…?" he heard Koga mumble, obviously picking up on Kagome's scent of distress. Inuyasha shook his head.

"It's fine. Calm down, will ya? You're burnin' my nose," he scolded her, trying to make her angry so that the sour smell of her fear would be replaced by the spicy smell of anger. That seemed to do the trick, and her eyebrows turned down in frustration.

"What? I wake up and you start growling at me and then you cover your nose like I shoved a toothpick up it—of course I'm scared, you jerk," she protested, folding her arms and looking away, though he could see the pink growing on her cheeks from the proximity of their bodies. He sighed, though he couldn't help the smug grin that stained his face at seeing her blushing.

"You okay, Kagome?" Inuyasha heard Koga ask sleepily, obviously not entirely awake. Inuyasha rolled his eyes. This guy was a real piece of work sometimes. Couldn't he see that they were snuggling? Oh… wait, no, he couldn't.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Koga. You can go back to sleep," Kagome surprised Inuyasha by answering, looking back at the half-demon with a raised eyebrow that he could tell meant that they would have to talk about what had happened later. He almost scoffed at her, as if he would actually admit that he growled because his demon got mad at him for wanting to get up. She would think he was a crazy person. Inuyasha blushed, now unable to look her in the eyes. His stupid demon kept getting him into trouble.

"I gotta pee…" he complained, thankful that his bladder decided to save him from this awkward situation. Kagome coughed, blushing and hurrying up from her spot at his side. He got up and stretched, yawning away the tire of the night and scurrying over to the bathroom. When he got inside, his eyes widened at the blown-out pupils and flushed face. He groaned in frustration, shaking his head at the stupid mating bond playing tricks on him.

 _Listen, if I wanna be with her, it's not because of anything_ _you_ _did. Got it?_ He argued with himself, furrowing his dark eyebrows in the mirror. The face that looked back at him seemed just as frustrated with him as he was with his reflection. He sighed and shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was thinking. Eventually he would have to admit to himself that… well…

* * *

"You sure you're okay, Kagome?" Koga asked, his voice gruff from sleep, but soft. She moved to sit beside his bean bag, but he urged her to sit on it with him. He opened his blanket to her and she accepted, sitting with him with a sigh.

"Yeah, Inuyasha was growling about something and I got worried, but then I guess he could smell my fear?" she rolled her eyes. "Anyone would be worried if someone just randomly started growling. Koga was quiet for a moment, before glancing her way.

"Are you and the mutt soul bonded?" he asked quietly, his piercing blue eyes looking through her. When she went red, he shook his head and chuckled sardonically. "Of course, we're both fated to other people. Fate is a bitch," he sighed before sniffing the air. "You'd better get back in the other bean bag," he warned her, opening the blanket again so she could get up. She gave him a sad look before giving him a light kiss on the cheek and left him, moving back to the bean bag that she and Inuyasha had shared that night.

When Inuyasha returned to his spot, his nose sniffed the air and he narrowed his eyes at Koga before glancing at Kagome. "Mom's making breakfast upstairs already if you guys want to head up there," he informed the group which seemed to be gradually waking. Inuyasha locked eyes with Kagome before nodding his head in the direction of the stairs. She understood the message and got up from the bean bag to follow him upstairs, Koga's words still sitting on her heart.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" she asked, furrowing her brows as he led her past the kitchen and into his bedroom. He closed the door behind her and moved to sit on his bed, his head in his hands.

"This stupid mating bond—it's killing me," he stated, his face in his hands. "I mean, just look at me, Kagome," he told her, moving his hands away and looking up at her with a strangely vulnerable expression. She blinked as she moved closer, only now realizing how strangely sick he was looking. It wasn't an unhealthy sick… it was more of a flushed, burning up kind of sick. Most certainly a fever. His eyes were blown out wide and his hair was in tangles, his breathing a bit heavy and his skin slightly sweaty.

"I-"

"Kagome… you mentioned last night that you've been coming over?" he asked, waiting for her nod. When she did, he held his hand out expectantly. She looked at the large, clawed appendage and back to his wide, golden eyes. She placed her hand in his and jumped slightly at the touch.

"Happens every time," he muttered as he shook his head. He placed her hand against his cheek and she watched as his pupils dilated to the correct size and his face immediately began to cool down. "Do you see this?"

She bit her lip, trying to piece together what he was trying to tell her.

"I… I don't understand why this is happening but… I have to be around you," he finally admitted, looking down at the floor, her hand still held against his cheek. She blushed brightly, realizing that maybe what he had been saying to her all those nights wasn't just nonsense spoken in a fever haze.

"But I thought… I thought you didn't want to be with me?" she asked, frowning slightly. He shook his head.

"I don't… no, I _didn't_ , but it was… I just couldn't think of a life without Kikyo but…" he trailed off, looking up at her. "I can't think of my life without you," he admitted, looking at her vulnerably. She swallowed, feeling the pounding in her chest and a warmth spread through her heart. Everything he was saying was exactly what she wanted to hear.

But…

"Inuyasha… we've only known each other for a month. Are you sure you are really feeling this way? Are you sure it's not just the bond forcing you into this?" she asked, her brows furrowed in apprehension. He shook his head.

"I can't tell what's the bond and what's my own thought. It used to be so easy but…" he looked away. "I just know that I have really strong feelings for you," he admitted, swallowing nervously as he glanced back at her. Kagome bit her lip. This was exactly what she had been waiting for but… could she force something onto someone when she knew full well that he was most likely speaking from the heart and not from his head?

"I… I think you need to consider it longer…" she finished, a little worried to look at him. "I don't think you're thinking clearly. We've known each other for a little over a month—I'm just not sure you know what you're getting into," she reasoned, looking at him sadly. He looked back at her and tilted his head, considering her words for a moment before nodding.

"You know something, Kagome? You're real special. I'm gunna keep trying," he decided, moving to stand up, looking down at her. He moved his hand from her to pull her in for a hug. She accepted and rested her head against his chest, unsure of what had just happened. They had been downstairs fighting only moments ago and now he was confessing his feelings to her? She shook her head and laughed quietly.

"This whole thing is so weird," she commented out loud. He nodded and chuckled a little too.

"You're telling me," he rolled his eyes, pulling away to look down at her.

She felt like something had changed between them, something… more solid?

"Inuyasha! Come downstairs, please!" he heard his father call him, making him jump away from Kagome slightly before blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. Kagome looked up at the dog demon and giggled a little, shaking her head and grabbing his hand, leading him out of the room confidently. Things had definitely changed between them… but she felt like it was definitely for the better.

* * *

When they got downstairs, the rest of the crew was only barely getting up from the basement, shuffling in one after the other and plopping down at the table. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise a little when she realized that the person putting pancakes on the plates in front of them with a bright red apron that said "Kiss the Cook" was none other than Inuyasha's father. Inuyasha seemed to make no comment on this other than a 'thank you' to the man who was serving up the breakfast. Inuyasha's mother sat at the table with them, smiling happily as Toga served her as well, planting a kiss on her head as he passed by.

Kagome looked at Izayoi for a bit of direction.

"It's his week to cook," she answered with a shrug, noticing the girl looking a bit confused. "Toga's actually quite an excellent cook," she remarked, smiling happily at her husband as he made his way around the table.

"Thank you, dear, but you're the better of the two of us," he admitted, giving her a wink. "How did you kids sleep last night?"

Kagome blushed at that and tried to look away from Inuyasha's mother who was looking at the two of them with a widening grin. Inuyasha squeezed her hand from under the table and she smiled a bit despite herself.

"Pretty well, thank you," Kagome nodded.

Sango blinked, still trying to wake up, and nodded in agreement. "It was actually pretty great. The bean bags were really soft," she answered, nodding her head and smiling sleepily.

"I'm glad," his mother nodded. "We figure that the bean bags would be pretty good beds for when Inuyasha has friends over," she explained, smiling a little. Inuyasha fidgeted a little, blushing from his mother embarrassing him a little in front of his friends. Kagome giggled a little and gave his hand a squeeze as well.

"So, do you kids have any plans for the day?" Toga asked, taking his seat at the table. The group looked around amongst themselves and shrugged.

"I think we were wanting to hit up the beach again today, but we're still working out the kinks in that," Koga answered easily, having been around this family most of his life. Kagome smiled a little at that and glanced at Inuyasha who looked at Koga with a somewhat questioning expression.

"Oh, that sounds fun! Is it the beach your parents own?" Izayoi asked, tilting her head at Koga as she took her husband and son's hands. Koga nodded and took Kagome's hand. She watched as Miroku, Sango, and Toga held hands.

"Let's say grace real quick before we eat," Izayoi smiled before bowing her head. "Lord, thank you for this meal, the hands that prepared it, and the company we get to share it with. Amen," she prayed, looking up and nodding. "You make sure to tell your mother I want to see her at the gardening club this week. She was sick last week, but I'm suspicious that she was at Jinjee's bookclub," she teased, giving Koga a wink. The boy laughed at that and rolled his eyes.

"I'll let her know, Mrs. Takahashi," he assured her, digging into his pancakes.

As breakfast finished, the group talked amicably and discussed their plans for the evening. When they were done, Inuyasha drove Kagome to her aunt's house to pick up a swim suit.

* * *

His eyes widened, and he paused, unable to move as he stepped out of his car to walk her to her aunt's house. Kagome kept walking, talking on and on about something that he wasn't really paying much attention to. There was a smell of… his heart dropped, and he book it for the house, hurrying pas the doors and into the house. When he finally found her aunt, his eyes rested on her frail form, looking weak and brittle. His ear flicked to the side as he listened to Kagome running after him. He looked the woman over before scanning the room with narrowed eyes, trying to pinpoint the exact source of the smell. That was around the time that Kagome entered the room, opening the door again and disrupting the scent of the room with her taint of fear. He almost gagged and decided that he would look at it a little later when Kagome was less upset.

"Inuyasha! Is everything okay? Is Aunt Tsukimi okay?" she asked, her voice a little higher with concern. His ears flattened, and he nodded his head, grabbing her arm lightly and pulling her out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He led her to her room and blinked a little at the loft-like area that she slept in. He couldn't remember if he had actually been in here before, but it didn't matter.

"Get your clothes. I gotta go outside for a little," he told her, pointing to his nose when she seemed a bit confused. She nodded and turned to get her things. As she did so, he left and moved downstairs, trying to be discrete as he entered the room again. It still had the stink of fear looming around the room, but his eyes seemed to settle on a strange looking broach lying on her dresser. It appeared to be covered in a thin layer of dust, just as the rest of her jewelry did, but this one seemed to glow and glisten, even without any sunlight passing into the room. Her narrowed his eyes as he examined it and wondered what was so special about a little spider broach? He sniffed it, but all he got was a nose full of dust, causing him to sneeze. The sound seemed to wake the woman sleeping in the room.

"Kagome?" the woman rattled weakly, her voice almost a hoarse whisper. Inuyasha froze, hoping that if he was quiet enough, she would just go back to sleep. He was right, and soon enough, he heard her heartbeat slow and her shallow breathing get just a tiny bit heavier. He frowned as he passed her by, smelling the sting of sickness on her, but unable to place what exactly that sickness was. He couldn't help but feel horrible for her and for what she was going through.

 _ **Put her out of her misery,**_ he heard his demon suggest. He rolled his eyes at such a cruel thought and made a beeline for the living room when he heard Kagome coming down the stairs.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I thought you were going outside?" she asked, a little confused. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I decided to wait inside for you instead," he shrugged, trying to play it off and get her to quit asking so many questions. She raised an eyebrow at him before rolling her eyes.

"Boys," she sighed before grabbing his hand. "Let's get moving. I talked to mom and she said she should be here in about five minutes to take care of Aunt Tsukimi. Are you sure she's okay?" she asked again, a bit of concern creeping into her tone. Inuyasha waved her off, though he was certain that her aunt was _not_ okay.

* * *

It was a beautiful day at the beach, sunshine, soft breeze, warm sand—everything was just perfect. Koga was nowhere to be seen, though Kagome could only guess that he was off trying to find that waitress girl again. She smiled a little and wished him the best with that. Maybe he would bring her to the bonfire? Kagome sighed contently as she laid back on her towel, appreciating the shade that the umbrella provided her.

"Inuyasha, you know that you are totally free to go swim with Miroku and Sango, right?" Kagome asked, her eyes closed but knowing that Inuyasha was sitting beside her in a attentive, yet lazy, position.

"Feh, are you kidding? It takes forever to try this mane," he complained. Kagome could hear the rolling of his eyes as he said that, but she could tell that his answer wasn't entirely truthful.

"Okay, whatever you say," she answered with a shrug and a grin. Why he couldn't just admit that he wanted to spend time with her rather than go swimming was beyond her. She reached over and gently placed her hand on top of his, shivering a little at the touch. As much as she was confused by the strange unspoken treaty that they had come to, she couldn't find herself not liking it. She wanted to give him time to get through things and make sure that what he wanted was real and not fabricated. She felt him jumped a little as well before sighing and relaxing into it.

Life really couldn't get any better.

* * *

When they headed home for the night, a little sunburnt and very tired, Inuyasha and Kagome struggled to make the drive.

"Wait, we need to stop by the barn house," she told him groggily, having been trying to nap but frustrated that Inuyasha wouldn't let her. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I ain't your chauffer," he grumbled, but made their way in that direction. When they got there, things simply didn't make any sense.

The house was covered in thick, hanging strands of cobwebs. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the sight and he watched as Kagome bolted into action, nearly jumping out of the car and hurrying over to the scene of the crime.

"What the hell?!" she nearly shrieked, making Inuyasha's ears flatten involuntarily. He hurried out as well and stood in front of her protectively.

"It's from a demon, I can smell it," Inuyasha warned her, not liking that she was even remotely close to any of the danger that this place was presenting. He narrowed his eyes and spotted movement through one of the windows. "It's inside."

"But my mom and aunt!" Kagome reminded him with a cry, trying to push past him to get to her family. Inuyasha understood her feelings but knew that she needed to be protected above anything else.

"I'll go get them, but you gotta stay out here where it's safe—promise?" he asked, turning to her and narrowing his eyes at her seriously. She seemed to fight with herself for a moment before looking back at the house and nodding with a defeated sigh. He gave her shoulders a squeeze as he ran in after her family.

Inside, cobwebs and a weird black goop littered the entirety of the farm house, covering almost every square inch. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene. How could so much damage be done in just one day? He wondered, hurrying past the stairs in a single leap. He crashed through the door into the bedroom of Kagome's aunt. His eyes immediately landed on the car-sized spider which had glowing red eyes and was currently trying to spin Kagome's mother into a web. She didn't put up a fight, which meant that she was most likely being drugged. He covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve and flexed his claws threateningly at the large spider demon.

"Hey, eight-eyes!" he called, trying to get its attention. It whipped around, hissing at him immediately. "Let her go!" he yelled at the monster before jumping and attempting to slice it's head off. The spider went for his leg and threw him off-balance, but not before he managed to slice the eyes of the spider, blinding it. The spider seemed to hiss and scream before rounding back to stab Inuyasha. He rolled out of the way and jumped back up, attempting to cut its legs but missing when it knocked him easily to the side. It was about to bite his face with its pincers when he heard a loud voice yell his name. The spider looked up and gve him just enough time to hurrying under the spider and slice it from underneath. The spider screamed in protest and staggered for a few moments before falling to the floor and disappearing in a wave of smoke. Inuyasha watched as all of the cobwebs disappeared with the spider and released Kagome's mother and her aunt. The woman who owned the house appeared to be knocked out, but otherwise, she seemed to be in fine health. Kagome's mother fell to the floor, also unconscious. Inuyasha listened as Kagome rushed to her mother's side, pulling her into a close hug.

"Mom, are you okay? I'm so sorry…" she whispered, rocking her mother back and forth. Inuyasha frowned and little, heart hurting from seeing Kagome upset. Inuyasha was about to approach her when his eyes narrowed, and he turned around quickly to see the retreating form of a small spider demon trying to enter back into its host. He stepped on the insect demon and watched as its soul screamed and left to go back to the hell it had crawled up from. Hopefully that was the end of that.

It was then that he approached Kagome with a slight frown and knelt beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"She's just sleeping," he assured her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. She nodded in understanding but seemed to refuse to get up.

"What happened? Why did all this happen?" she asked, looking up at Inuyasha with a frown. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well… I'm guessing that your aunt's been possessed by a spider demon for a while and tonight, it was finally powerful enough to take its true form," he speculated, but could only assume that that was the case. "It _is_ the full moon, after all. Demons get stronger on nights like tonight," he explained, hoping that him talking with her would help calm her nerves and soothe her fears. Kagome shook her head.

"I just… I have a feeling that this was deliberate."

* * *

Author's Note: Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Bye!~~~~  
-STH


	13. Chapter 13

After the spider fiasco, Kagome and Inuyasha helped to get both her mother and her aunt into their beds and let them rest. Kagome was extremely concerned about her family members, wondering if they had possibly been poisoned or hurt in any way, but Inuyasha insisted that they were fine. Kagome sat beside the bed that her mother was borrowing for the night and let her hands fall to her lap, looking down with furrowed brows. How could this have happened? How did a demon get into their house? How could she have not known that her aunt was possessed? Her fist tightened, her knuckles turning a white color as the skin was pulled taught.

"Hey, calm down, it's not your fault," Kagome heard Inuyasha assure her, jumping a little as she felt him place a hand on her shoulder. He sat beside her, his hand on her shoulder and being her support. She was shaken to her core, but Inuyasha seemed to be taking this in stride. She looked his way, her eyes a little worried and tired.

"Inuyasha… how did I not know what was going on? Why did this happen to _her_? Aunt Tsukimi is the sweetest person I've ever met," she frowned, shaking her head. "Inuyasha, I don't know how to fight things like this," she told him. "I don't know how to protect against these things."

"Don't worry about that, Kagome. I'm gunna be the one to protect you from now on," Inuyasha assured her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. She felt a warmth in her chest and as much as her heart told her to just swoon and allow herself to be wrapped up in these feelings, they only made her bitter.

She turned away from him, looking back at her sleeping mother. Her mother and aunt had been attacked by a giant demon spider and this stupid bond thought that just because she was hearing nice words from a cute boy, that it was okay to just forget about all her problems and cuddle up to him. It was insanity! She looked at him, a bit of anger in her eyes. He seemed to recoil from her, confusion and a bit of hurt on his features.

"Inuyasha, my family was just attacked by a giant spider demon and this bond is trying to make me forget all about it," she told him, her voice a little too even. She shook her head, closing her eyes in frustration. "What am I supposed to do?"

Inuyasha was quiet for a bit, not responding to her question. As she was about to answer her own question, Inuyasha decided to speak up.

"This bond… it's not… it… It's supposed to help us, Kagome," he reasoned quietly, unable to meet her gaze. Kagome blinked, a little surprised by his turn of thought. "I thought it was a bad thing too, but… The bond isn't trying to make you forget about it, it's trying to help you feel better," Inuyasha decided, his eyes finding hers resolutely, his dark eyebrows set in determination. "I think you're right. This _was_ deliberate. I'm going to help you figure out who did this, and I'm going to put an end to it," he assured her, sounding entirely resolute in his decision.

Kagome looked at him, her expression equally lost and grateful. "I'm so grateful but… I want to help too. Even if it's in a small way, I don't want to sit back and let someone take care of me and my family," she asserted, her gaze set and equally as determined as Inuyasha.

"You could get seriously hurt, Kagome. Demons are really powerful creatures—they don't follow human rules of conduct or laws. They have no problem killing someone if they get in the way—innocent or not," he warned her, his brows furrowing in thought.

"I _have_ to do something to help, Inuyasha. I can't sit idly by while my family members get hurt. What if they come after my little brother next?" she poised, scaring herself with the possibility that her little brother could get caught up in the middle of this.

Inuyasha swallowed, looking away and trying to figure out some kind of response.

"Inuyasha, you would never let anyone get in the way of you and your family. Think how I feel," she challenged, placing her own hand on his arm. She watched as he jumped a little and goosebumps appeared on his arm. It never ceased to amaze her what they could do to each other, but there was no time to think about that. "I'm not asking you to have me fight a demon, I just want to be part of it—I want to help gather information and do my part too."

He seemed to mull this over for a moment before sighing and shaking his head, looking at her with a bit of a crooked smile.

"Stubborn girl."

"That's how my mother raised me," Kagome nodded, grinning a little at Inuyasha as well, yawning a bit. She watched his ear twitch at the sound and saw him fidget for a moment.

"If you wanna go sleep, I can stay up with her, just make sure her condition is alright," he offered, looking away from Kagome and at the sleeping figure on the bed. Kagome sighed, knowing that she was going to sleep anyways, so she might as well take his offer. She nodded and gave him a grateful 'thank you' before moving a few feet away to a small couch that she kept in the loft of her room.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha," she bid him, feeling her eyes getting heavy with sleep.

* * *

That next morning, Inuyasha waited until Kagome had finally woken up to move from where he sat in front of her mother to the bathroom to blow his runny nose. He rolled his eyes as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. She had been less than ten feet from him the entire night—this was just ridiculous. He wondered if he could get away with borrowing on of her shirts or something and just having it around when he started feeling sick? Then again, he had been surrounded by her scent all night and it hadn't entirely done the job.

 _At least I'm not throwing up all over the place,_ he reasoned, shrugging a little as he moved back into her room. Her mother had slept peacefully all night long, something he was grateful for. He hadn't yet met her mother and was a little concerned about meeting her under the circumstances they were currently in. His ear twitched as he heard another heartbeat—different from Kagome's—begin to beat quicker. He decided he was of better use to Kagome down in the kitchen.

He looked around her kitchen, searching for various cooking supplies. He made her some scrambled eggs with bacon and toast, somehow remembering how to cook it the way his mother had taught him. The motions seemed to come naturally, and it wasn't until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the kitchen that he finally paused to admire his handiwork. Maybe all that time he had spent with his mother in the morning had finally paid off.

He looked up from the stove and gave Kagome a nod before piling everything onto four plates and organizing the table.

"How's your mom?" he asked casually, wondering when she was going to come down. Kagome seemed to smile a little bit at that—obviously still a little sleepy.

"She's fine. She wants to talk with you about last night," she answered, giving and Inuyasha a thank you as he fixed up her plate. When he was done, he placed the pan into the sink and turned off the stove, taking off the apron he wore and sitting down at the table beside Kagome. She leaned against him a little on the bench-like chair, yawning and trying to wake up. He felt his face heat up a little and he jolted at the touch slightly, a fuzzy warmth spreading through him. He wished that he could have this every morning.

Her mother joined them soon enough, entering the kitchen with dark circles under her eyes. Inuyasha straightened slightly, only adjusting his posture to seem more alert, but not enough to disrupt Kagome resting against his arm. When her mother saw him, she blinked and stared at him for a moment, her eyes squinting slightly. She seemed to be looking at something just above him, and he turned his head in that direction to see what she was staring at. Suddenly, she was closer to him and squeezing the ears atop his head. He blushed and pulled away from her a little, his movements jerkily wake Kagome from her mini-nap at the table. She blinked and looked at Inuyasha curiously.

"Sorry… I uh… I don't really let people touch my ears…" he informed her mother.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me—they just looked so soft," she apologized, looking a little embarrassed herself. Kagome giggled lightly, making Inuyasha forget about the whole interaction.

"I'm Mrs. Higurashi, as I'm sure Kagome's already told you," she introduced herself, smiling a little. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. The woman had the same smile as Kagome.

"I'm Inuyasha Takahashi," he responded with a small bow. "It's nice to meet you," he greeted politely, wanting to make a good impression on her mother. The woman smiled at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder before taking a seat. She seemed to recognize his name from somewhere and tilted her head a little.

"Did you make all this, Inuyasha?" she asked, looking at the food. Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. Did she not like it? Did it smell bad?

"Uh… yeah…." He admitted, swallowing a little.

"It smells wonderful, dear," Mrs. Higurashi complimented graciously, picking up a fork before pausing. "Oh, I wanted to ask you about last night."

"I wanted to ask you about that, too," he admitted, looking at the woman expectantly.

"What happened? I was taking care of my sister when there was a weird smell and I passed out," she explained, offering him a little insight into what happened. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at that.

"A spider demon attacked you and your sister last night. Me and Kagome got there before it could actually hurt you," he offered, a little disappointed that Kagome's mother hadn't been able to gather more information before she had passed out.

"A spider demon?" her mother seemed surprised, her eyes wide. "Why on earth would a spider demon attack us?"

"That's the thing—we don't actually know why. It was a full moon last night, so it could have just been a demon lying dormant in this house until the time was right. He could have wandered in last night. There are lots of options," he answered with s frown. "You guys might want to stay away from here for a little," he advised. Her mother looked at Kagome with a concerned, tight expression.

"Mom, no. The house isn't ready yet and I haven't finished the term yet," Kagome protested with a shake of her head. Inuyasha frowned at that, the idea of Kagome moving away was… Even for her own protection… he wasn't sure that having her further from him would make her safer.

"Kagome, what if you get attacked like I did?" her mother pointed out, trying to remain calm. Inuyasha watched the two women argue, intrigued by how they were both able to be rather passive even while debating.

"Mom, really, I'm going to be fine. I go to school with tons of demons—I have plenty of protection," she offered, looking at Inuyasha for support.

"I'll protect her, Mrs. Higurashi," he offered, assuring her mother. Her mother remained unconvinced.

"Kagome, you know how crazy and dangerous this all sounds, right?" her mother asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Inuyasha sighed and nodded.

"I promise that she'll be safe. I can have security brought here to watch over her aunt and her," Inuyasha offered, swallowing a little at her gaze turned on his questioningly.

"How did you and Kagome meet, Inuyasha?" the older woman asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Inuyasha swallowed, his face going red a little as he remembered that night and tried to push down the excitement he remembered feeling as he chased her.

"We uh… I ran into her on my way back from a walk one day and she ended up transferring to my school. My mom ran into her at the store and we officially met when she came over for dinner," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The woman looked at her daughter for a moment before looking back at him. He felt like maybe they had talked about him before.

"Are you sure that you can take care of my daughter?" she asked, looking at him with a curious gaze. He fidgeted a little before nodding.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, his gaze resolute. She stared him down for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. I trust you," she decided, digging into the meal before her. Kagome blinked at that and looked at Inuyasha with a surprised expression.

"You do?" Inuyasha asked, a little surprised. He nearly bit his tongue for being so blatant, but her mother just laughed lightly at that.

"If you're willing to save me—a total stranger—from a giant spider demon, surely you will protect my daughter," she answered with a happy nod. Inuyasha blushed a little at that, but merely nodded and looked Kagome's way. She gave him an appreciative smile.

"Him and all my other friends at school," Kagome offered, giving Inuyasha a wink when he nearly put up a fight about having Koga protect her.

"I haven't met any of your new friends," her mother commented, looking at her daughter with a bit of teasing. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"They ain't much," he snorted, chuckling when Kagome hit him with her fork.

"Hey, mister! They're plenty," she defended, sticking her tongue out at him. He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a flick on the head playfully.

"Nuh-uh."

Kagome gave him another smack with the fork, and just as Inuyasha was about to pick up his own fork, her mother cleared her throat and chuckled a little.

"So, I have to get to work soon. Are you two going to be okay to stay here and watch over Tsukimi?" she asked, interrupting their argument. Inuyasha gave her a curt nod before looking at Kagome playfully.

"Well, I will be. Not sure about Kagome."

"Uh-huh, and who is the one who hasn't slept all night?" she asked, grinning a little. "I'm probably going to end up doing it all by myself," she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. Inuyasha snorted at that.

"I don't need sleep. I'm a half-demon. We can go days without sleep. It's just fun," he informed her smugly before finishing what was on his plate and getting up to wash it. When he turned around to collect everyone else's cleared plates, Kagome was staring at him a bit in surprise. He tilted his head in question. Whatever it was, Kagome wouldn't explain.

"Good luck, kids," her mother bid, hurrying out the door. Kagome frowned a little, looking down at the floor. Inuyasha frowned in concern as well and looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just… Mom's so busy that she didn't even remember that Aunt Tsukimi is still in bed even though it's ten," she frowned, shaking her head. "She must be a lot more stressed than she's letting on."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the aunt's room.

"Let's check on her, then."

* * *

The room was rather dark inside, but other than that, one would never suspect that just last night, a giant demon spider had made the old bedroom its cobweb-den. Kagome frowned a little, the door creaking open louder than she would have liked. When she turned on the light, she blinked a little at what she saw. There, on her bed, was her aunt—sitting upright and looking out of the dusty windows to the light seeping in from outside. Kagome's spirits lifted at that—glad to see that her aunt was doing well and was awake. She approached the woman, a small part of her wondering if maybe it had been the spider demon all along that had been keeping her from being able to connect with them. She wondered if maybe now she would finally be able to have her aunt back.

"Aunt Tsukimi? You're awake. How do you feel?" she asked, tilting her head a little as she continued to approach the woman. Her aunt didn't seem to hear her, so she spoke a little louder, repeating her question. When her aunt continued to stare out of the window, she placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. Her aunt remained unresponsive. Kagome felt her heart sink. She pulled away from the woman, trying to keep her disappointment pushed down and away from the surface of her feelings.

Kagome sighed and moved to the window, opening the curtains wide and allowing more light to come inside. The girl heard Inuyasha snort in either frustration or amusement, but she assumed it was the former. With a bit of automaticity, Kagome placed her aunt's shoes in front of her and set her clothes out. She would get her aunt dressed once Inuyasha was out of the room.

Inuyasha stood with arms crossed, staring at her aunt with a bit of curiosity. Kagome figured that he was just as concerned as she was about the current situation.

"It should have fixed her," he commented quietly, shaking his head. "We got rid of the demon."

"Maybe she was already like this when the demon possessed her?" Kagome suggested with a sad frown before moving towards the door, gesturing for Inuyasha to leave. He rolled his eyes at her and moved closer to the woman, getting in her aunt's face. Kagome's eyes widened, and she stormed over to him, trying to get him out of her aunt's personal space.

"Hey! Just because she can't respond doesn't mean that she doesn't need her personal space too!" she protested, trying to pull Inuyasha away.

"Shush, don't you think I know that?" he sneered quietly, still looking over her aunt. She pulled away from him a little, placing her hands on her hips, waiting for him to explain himself. He seemed to stay there for a moment before pulling away and shaking his head.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, the demon that possessed her _was_ in there for a while. She still smells like demon stink though," he frowned. "Not like, residual demon stink, but as though there is still one in her," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest. She blinked at that and looked at him widely.

"What? She has more than one demon in her?" she asked, surprised. "Is that a thing?"

He scoffed. "Well, when a human is in a weak state like she was, they become easy prey for demons without physical bodies," he offered, looking at her aunt with a bit of sympathy.

"So… what do we do?"

"Get rid of all the demons, and then get rid of the person who put these demons in her," Inuyasha answered with a bit of an arrogant air about him. Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"So, someone put them in her? How do you know?" she asked, furrowing her brows. How did anyone manage to get in the house in the first place? Kagome _always_ locked the door behind her when she left for school, at night, and anytime she left the house.

He seemed to shrug. "Well, I noticed a weird spider pendant thing on her dresser before we left. When we got back, it wasn't there anymore," he answered. "It could have been a calling card or some kind of summoning item, but whoever did it is going to pay big time," he nodded.

"Well, how do we keep the demons from coming back? How do we get them out of her?" Kagome asked, frowning in concern.

"Well, getting the demons out is the hard part. We'll have to find some kind of priest or something and get her exercised. The other part is… not ideal."

"What is it?" she asked, her voice heavy with trepidation. Inuyasha didn't answer her, but she watched his ears flattened against his head in response to whatever her was thinking about.

* * *

"Sorry to call you on your off day, Kaede," Inuyasha apologized, sighing as he held her arm in his and assisted the older woman up the stairs to Kagome's house. The older woman shook her head.

"I have been in the service of many demon families for years, I am used to house calls," she supplied with a serious voice. "Now, where is the woman you were speaking of?"

Inuyasha led her to Kagome's aunt's room and Kaede frown deeply as soon as she entered the room.

"There is a darkness in here," she stated ominously, looking around with searching eyes. Kagome sat beside her aunt, the woman completely unresponsive still.

"Nurse Kaede?" Kagome asked, her brows raised in surprise.

"Yes, child. I am a nurse for demons and humans alike, but I am also a priestess," she supplied simply, moving over to Tsukimi's dresser and picking out a few items. She held them in her hand before approaching the comatose woman. "Someone has left many summoning items in her room," she stated, holding the items out for Kagome to see. They seemed like normal jewelry pieces, there would have been no way for her to pick them out from among the pile of jewelry on the dresser. The older woman narrowed her eyes as she approached Kagome's aunt, closing her eyes for a moment and taking deep breaths.

"She has been hexed," Kaede stated after a moment, her eyes slightly widened in surprise. Inuyasha blinked, having not encountered that before.

"Hexed? Like, by a witch?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, child. This hexing is recent, but the possession is old," she explained to them, frowning as she spoke.

"Can you help her?" Inuyasha asked, having never known Kaede to not be able to fix something. The older woman nodded.

"I can, but I will not be able to destroy the demons. I will only be able to dispel them from this woman's soul," she answered, looking at Inuyasha expectantly. He nodded at her, understanding what she was requesting of him.

"Alright. I'll take care of it. Just focus on getting them out," he assured her.

With a nod, Kaede pulled out a sacred sutra and began to recite a low, ancient prayer passed down from generations of priestesses. As she recited the prayer, Tsukimi began fell back on the bed and began to convulse. Kagome squealed in surprise, her fear stinking the room. Inuyasha did his best to not gag, merely covering his nose and trying to focus on what was going to happen. No sooner than Inuyasha thought about telling Kagome to leave, a demon tore itself out of the woman's body. It shrieked and screamed and growled as it flew around the room in a frenzy. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and brought out a claw, slashing through its disfigured body with ease. It disappeared in a haze of smoke and Inuyasha took a few breaths, preparing himself for the next attack.

"Kagome, you need to get the hell outta here before one of them attacks you!" Inuyasha called, waving at her to leave. Kagome seemed fixed in her spot, staring at her aunt with a look of horror. Inuyasha felt a terrible stab in his gut, having never wanted to see her looking so scared. He looked down to find a demon had actually stabbed him, slicing through his abdomen. He growled and attacked the smaller demon, slitting its throat and tearing his head off. The creature disappeared with a scream.

The house nearly shook with the next demon that was forced out of Tsukimi's body. Inuyasha almost worried that he might not be powerful enough without his sword, but he pushed the thought away, deciding that he needed to be more confident if he was going to protect Kagome the way that she needed him to. Inuyasha could smell the sweat dripping down Kaede's brow, feeling a little bad that she was exerting herself so much for their sake. This next demon could actually speak, and its voice rattled the house.

" _ **I WILL EAT YOUR SOULS!"**_ the demon roared, its mountainous body lunging at Inuyasha with such a force, it sent him reeling back into Tsukimi's closet. His head bounced off the back of the wall, feeling a painful pulling.

 _Dammit… whiplash._

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, her fear and worry staining the room.

"Don't get any closer! I got this!" he called to her, groaning as he pulled himself out of the closet and attempted to slice through the demon. It wasn't going to be that easy, of course. The demon took the take head on and raked its own claws across Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha grunted in pain, biting down on his lip to keep from crying out. The stupid claws had poison in them. He growled at the demon and slid under its hovering body, jumping on its back and slicing its head off. The demon disappeared in a blast of smoke and dissipated from the room. The strange darkness that had once filled the room, was gone.

Kaede fell to her knees with a heavy sigh, shaking her head. Inuyasha held his stomach, keeping the contents in while his body tried to fix itself. Kagome ran to Inuyasha, most likely because he was the worse off of the two, and wrapped her arms around, his blood staining her clothes. He hissed in the pain that should have accompanied her touch. Instead, he hissed in the pleasant feeling he felt as soon as her body touched his.

"Inuyasha! Are you okay? I was so worried!" she cried, her face against his chest. He could smell the salt in her tears and he shook his head, unable to remove his hands yet, but let his cheek rest against the crown of her head.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" he asked, grunting as he felt his skin pulling itself back together. Though he was a quick healer, it felt like he was recuperating much quicker than normal.

"Just a little scared. Oh, you're bleeding so bad, Inuyasha," Kagome frowned, looking up at his face where he demon had slashed him. He could feel the cold air hitting the moist skin, but he shook his head, knowing that the cuts were already closed up.

"It's nothin'. I'll be okay. Go check on Kaede," he instructed, not wanting her to leave but knowing that Kaede was not only human, but old and frail.

He watched as Kagome hesitantly pulled herself away from him and went over to check up on Kaede. Inuyasha looked down at his hand, gently pulling it away from his abdomen and entirely surprised to find it was already closing up. He raised an eyebrow at that, wondering if the mating bond anything to do with it.

"Are you okay, Nurse Kaede?" she asked, her voice laved with worry. The older woman nodded, her breathing labored.

"Yes. I am fine. I just need a moment to catch my breath," she answered into between pants, rising to her feet with Kagome's help.

"Did we get all of them?" Kagome asked, frowning a little. Inuyasha assumed that she would feel bad if they had to go through more of this. The older woman nodded.

"It seems so. I was unable to remove the hex which keeps her in this comatose state," she informed them, shaking her head with a sigh. "I will need more time to research how to fix this problem. In the meantime, we need to discuss protecting this house from further possessions," she stated, locking eyes with Inuyasha for a moment.

He felt his ears flatten again his head and he looked away, not wanting to talk about it.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" Kagome asked, furrowing her brows.

"Inuyasha is silent because we must bless this house in order to protect it from further demonic possession."

The dog demon frowned, looking away with a bit of worry and frustration. He shook his head, turning in the opposite direction.

"And if you bless the house, no demons will be able to come in?" she asked, piecing together the information. Kaede nodded.

"Precisely. Inuyasha included," she stated simply. Inuyasha felt a growl trying to escape his throat. He forced it down, though, because the need to keep Kagome safe far outweighed his need to be able to enter her home.

"But… is there a way to not let in any demon unless they are invited?" Kagome asked, glancing over at Inuyasha with a soft smile. He blushed, his eyebrows raised in surprise. She actually… wanted him to be able to see her?

Kaede thought about this for a moment, considering the possibility.

"It's possible. But what if a demon took a form like Inuyasha's and you let it in?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What of your aunt? She is still hexed, what if this hex was implemented by a witch commanding a demon? They could command your aunt to allow the demon in the house," she pointed out, frowning a little.

"That's…"

"No, just bless the house," Inuyasha decided, his brows furrowed in determination.

"But, Inu- "

"Kagome, don't worry about it. It's more important that your house is safe," he told her, shaking his head as he interrupted her.

"Very well, I will begin the blessing process. Inuyasha- "

"Yeah, I know. I'll get outta here," he rolled his eyes, cutting Kaede off as well. He was so frustrated. He knew what the right thing to do was, but his demon growled in protest at the idea of not being able to come into his mate's house. He walked himself out of the house, crossing his arms as he sat on the porch. His ear turned as he heard Kagome follow him outside and sit beside him.

"You could stay in and watch, if you wanted," Inuyasha pointed out.

"I know. I just figured you could use the company," Kagome answered with a smile. She placed her hand on his shoulder, both of them jumping a little at the contact.

"I wish there were a third option. Where all demons except you were kept out," Kagome admitted with a light chuckle. Inuyasha grinned a little at her.

"Even Koga?"

"Hm," she seemed to think about it, making Inuyasha frown and nearly protest, but Kagome halted him with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. "Yes, even Koga. You have to admit, Inuyasha, he's been really helpful and kind to me," she pointed out. He scoffed a little.

"Yeah, well, that's just 'cuz he wants to get in your pants," he rolled his eyes. Kagome raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

"We both know that's not true. He found his soul mate," she reminded him. Inuyasha blinked a little, having forgotten that information entirely. Had he even been present for that conversation?

"Huh. I guess that explains why he's so beefy these days," he sighed, a little jealous.

"I wanted to ask about that, actually. How come you didn't get all buff like him?" she asked, looking at him. He blushed and frowned at her.

"Hey! I'm plenty buff!" he protested. It was Kagome's turn to blush.

"I'm not saying you aren't, it's just that after Koga met his soul mate, he got _huge_ ," she elaborated, hitting him playfully. Inuyasha sighed and placed his head in his hands, shaking his head.

"Just another perk of only being _half_ demon," he shrugged, a bit frustrated. "Apparently, my body can't handle the normal demon changes that happen when we find our soul mate, so I change in other ways," he answered, looking away.

"Like the fever?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Yeah, the fever," he nodded with a light sigh. "My mom says that I'm nicer too," he added, rolling his eyes. "But she's my mom, so she always says things like that."

Kagome was quiet for a moment. "Do you think that being a half-demon is a bad thing?"

His stomach fell for a moment, caught in shock by what she said before looking at her with a somewhat alarmed expression.

"Course not. Why? Do you think it's a bad thing?" he responded quickly, searching her face as she spoke. She shook her head.

"No, I don't think so. I don't really know why it would be. It's just who you are," she answered easily, shrugging a little and giving him a smile. He felt his heart race a little at her words and had to look away.

"People usually don't like half-demons because we don't really belong anywhere. Humans hate us because we're half-demon, and demons hate us because we're half-human. It's hard being in the middle category," he shrugged, trying to sound distant from the situation. Years of children refusing to play with him and teasing him came to his mind, but he pushed them away as soon as he could.

Kagome frowned and placed a hand on his, sending shivers down his spine. "I'm sorry that it was hard for you, Inuyasha."

He blushed at her words, but before he could respond, he felt a burning sensation all over his body and shot up from the porch, jumping to the walkway and trying to blow off the smoke that came off of his body. Kagome looked at him with wide, scared eyes.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay?" she asked, standing up from the porch as well.

Inuyasha nodded and waved her off. "Kaede finished the blessing," he called to her, tentatively moving a little closer to Kagome, but not getting on the stairs. She moved to meet him when Kaede came out of the house and closed the door behind her.

"It is done," she stated simply, looking at the smoking Inuyasha and grinning slightly. "I see that you were not entirely out of the house."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Whatever. I was just sitting on the porch steps. It doesn't even hurt that bad."

Kaede merely chuckled and looked at Kagome as she began to slowly descend the stairs. Inuyasha rushed to help her, offering her his arm and making sure to not touch the wood of the stairs in any way. Kaede looked at him curiously but didn't refuse his help. Inuyasha blushed and looked away, wondering if maybe his mother had been right.

"You should no longer be troubled by evil spirits in your home," the old woman assured Kagome with a nod. The teen smiled and bowed slightly.

"Thank you so much for your help, Nurse Kaede," she thanked, glancing at Inuyasha for a moment. "How long will the blessing last?"

"I would say about two to three years. You could contact a local priest to get sacred sutras to put around the grounds if you are still troubled," the woman suggested as Inuyasha walked her to her car. It never ceased to amaze Inuyasha that the old bat was still allowed to drive.

"See ya later, Kaede," Inuyasha bid as she got into her car. The teens waved the old woman off as she drove away and turned to face each other.

"Now to figure out who did this."

* * *

Author's Note:

I hope you like this chapter! Leave a review to let me know what I'm doing right! Thanks for everyone who keeps up with my updates. It always puts a smile on my face. The story is coming to a close pretty soon, guys! See ya~

-STH


	14. Chapter 14

At school the following day, the school was abuzz with the latest gossip. Apparently, both Kikyo and her boyfriend were out sick. Kagome was a little confused as to why that would qualify as gossip worthy of talking about, since skipping school is something teens do all the time.

"No, Kagome, you don't get it. Kikyo has never missed a day of school," Sango explained, a deep frown on her face. "She's either really sick or something happened to her."

Kagome considered this for a moment, looking around at the others in the group. No one seemed to want to give any opinions on the matter. Even Inuyasha seemed a lot less interested than usual.

"It's probably just the flu, it's going around," Inuyasha shrugged, taking another bite from his sandwich. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him a little, curious at to why he seemed so uninterested. She used to be his true love, right?

"I wonder what happened this weekend with them," Miroku commented with a sigh, scooping up some of his rice. Kagome thought about her weekend and sighed, poking at her lunch. She and Inuyasha had decided to keep what happened a secret, not wanting to spread any gossip, as Miroku was certain to do, and wanted to keep the fear to a minimum. That and… her face went a little pink as she thought about Inuyasha's confession at the sleepover. He had refused to leave her side, only leaving for the night to sleep and come back early the next morning. It was a bit frustrating that he couldn't come inside, since he was prone to honking his horn in order to get her attention. She always worried that it would wake up her aunt. She frowned again.

Her aunt was still unresponsive, even after the exorcism. Kagome rested her hopes on Kaede's prayer to get rid of the hex. She shook her head, looking off a little in thought.

"So, Koga, we noticed you sneaking off. What happened with that?" Sango asked, grinning a little at the wolf-demon. Koga's face went a little pink and he looked off with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The connection thing just makes me want to be around her. We hung out for a little and then I went home, plain and simple," he answered, glancing at Kagome for a little before sighing. "I'm glad all the heat is finally off of Kagome. It was getting to be a little hard explaining to the parents of all the losers I punched why I beat their kids up," he chuckled, grinning down at her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You didn't have to do that, Koga," she assured him, but a small part of her wondered if maybe… he _did_ have to do it.

"How many people beat _you_ up?" Inuyasha asked, smirking at the wolf. Koga raised an eyebrow.

"None. Which is more than you can say," he teased, flashing his teeth. Inuyasha blinked and narrowed his eyes at the wolf, flexing his fist a little.

"Well, we can settle that right here and now if you'd like," Inuyasha offered, puffing his chest out a little.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty. So, did you get her number?" Sango asked, looking at Koga. He blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, I figured I might as well get it if she's going to be my soul mate," he answered a bit sheepishly.

Kagome smiled at him, glad that things were at least working out for Koga. She knew that Inuyasha wanted to try to work things out with her, but she also knew that the bond was too much of an influence on his better judgement. He was going to have to wait for her to come around this time. She giggled a little and looked his way, smiling a little wider when she noticed that he was looking at her and raised an amused eyebrow. He apparently wanted to be informed on what she thought was so funny. When she shook her head in response, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked back down at his food.

It was around that time that the room seemed to go silent and in walked Kikyo, looking more beautiful and vibrant than Kagome had ever seen. The woman walked with purpose and confidence as she made her way over to her specific table and sat down. Everything about Kikyo looked so much more appealing. Her hair seemed healthier, her skin suppler, even her eyes had more light to them. Kagome blinked and looked around the rest of the room. All the demon men were looking at her like some kind of treat. The only ones who weren't, were Inuyasha and Koga, who, though shocked, seemed uninterested in Kikyo.

"Goodness. She's quite the beauty," Miroku commented quietly, shaking his head. He earned a proper smack on the shoulder from Sango.

"What the hell happened with her? She smells weird," Inuyasha finally commented, narrowing his eyes to try and figure out what was going on. After hearing Inuyasha's input, Kagome felt a little better about the situation, she had to admit.

"Yeah, kinda like… a demon or something?" Koga nodded. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"She's probably got Naraku stink all over her, ya idiot," he pointed out. "But you're right, there's something else."

Kagome furrowed her brows at that. What could possibly be going on with Kikyo? Whatever it was, she was just grateful that things seemed to have died down. Still, where was Naraku?

* * *

Inuyasha had been putting off going home all day because he knew that as soon as he arrived, his mother would be there to question him. He had come home too late last night to see his mother and had left too early for his mother to be awake. He felt bad about sneaking around and missing her. It was just difficult when his heart hurt from not being around Kagome. Though her rejection had been blunt, he had felt rather good about it. She hadn't said no because of anything he did, she said no because she wanted to make things feel real. He sighed a little. He could appreciate that. If anything, the rejection only made him want her more. He was determined that she would be his eventually, no matter how long it took. He would be patient and wait for her to come around, even if it meant not being able to be with her always. Even this short amount of time away from her was making him feel a little woozy. He looked around the road, not wanting any passing drivers to see him pulling out a shirt in his own car to sniff. It was one of her lesser-worn shirts. He had snuck it while she wasn't looking and was entirely glad that he had. Having that physical piece from her was really helping with the nausea. It didn't get rid of the sweating, sniffling, or fever, but it took care of the worst symptom.

When he arrived, his mother and father were waiting for him just in the foyer, looking at their son with a mix of anticipation and frustration. His ears flattened against his head, ready to be yelled at for breaking curfew. His father gazed upon him in disapproval and his mother looked more stern than usual. Inuyasha sighed and moved to set his bag down as he made his way over to the couch. He figured he might as well be sitting down if they were going to grill him. They entered the living room as well, sighing a little at Inuyasha's attitude.

"Son, we understand that you have a mate now and that you want to spend all your time with her," his mother started, trying to be gentle. Inuyasha's face went red.

"She's not my mate! We're just friends…" he protested, his voice dying a little when he realized how he sounded. His mother gave him a knowing grin.

"Regardless, you can't just expect the rules to no longer apply to you. You have a curfew and you're supposed to at least eat the breakfast I make for you," Izayoi frowned, looking down slightly. Inuyasha immediately felt bad and nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry for being out so late, mom. I didn't mean to break curfew, I just didn't want to leave her…" he muttered, his face flush with fever and embarrassment.

"Of course," his father nodded. "You still could have called us. Instead, we get a voicemail from Kaede telling us that you were attacked by a spider demon and that Kaede had to perform an exorcism," Toga frowned, looking at his son with a bit of frustration. Inuyasha coughed and looked away. "Do you understand how dangerous an exorcism is for a demon? Especially from someone as powerful and skilled as Lady Kaede?"

Inuyasha shrugged a little and rolled his eyes. "I was outside the whole time and I was perfectly careful. You guys need to stop worrying so much. I'm fine."

His mother didn't seem to like that response.

"You could have been seriously hurt, not to mention the demons who attacked you. They could have killed you, Inuyasha," his mother pointed out, alluding to the fact that Kaede must have told them about him getting hurt.

"I healed almost entirely about ten minutes after I got hurt—I'm not fragile, mom," he defended, furrowing his brows a little.

"Now, now. We're just wanting answers. Do you have any idea why this happened?" Toga mediated, looking between the two of them. His son shook his head, sighing a little.

"No. We're still trying to figure that out. All we know is what happened, not why or who," he supplied, looking at his dad more fully. The older demon seemed to think this over for a moment before shaking his head.

"I can't think of any spider demons at the moment," he frowned. "I will do more research into that. Which reminds me, Inuyasha, have you read that book I gave you?"

Inuyasha made a face and rolled his eyes once again. "I already told ya, I ain't readin' that book. It's too big and bulky. I ain't got time for stuff like that," he answered with a snort. He watched as his father chuckled at that.

"Right, right, and how are things going with Kagome? Is she your girlfriend yet?" the man asked, mirth shining playfully in his eyes as he teased his son. Inuyasha stiffened at that and looked away.

"N-no! We're taking things slow," he answered carefully, not wanting to reveal that he had been rejected by her. Toga seemed to grin at that and nodded.

"Oh, of course. It's funny—I remember your mother saying something similar to me when I first asked her if I could court her."

Inuyasha made another face. "Ew, court? Who uses gross words like that anymore? Frickin' old fart," he teased, laughing at his dad a little. "Besides, we really are taking things slow. She thinks the whole mating bond thing is a bunch of junk, just like me."

Inuyasha watched as his mother raised an eyebrow. He felt like she could tell he was lying.

"Of course. Well, make sure that you are taking things slowly enough to get home on time," she grinned before waving her hands dismissively. "Now, come give me a hug. I've missed you."

Inuyasha smiled and rose to his feet, wrapping his arms around his mother and smiling as he felt his father wrap his long arms around the both of them. He cherished moments like these when he was able to have his parents be together like this. He almost wondered what his life would be like if he didn't have them, but that was a thought too depressing to continue to consider.

"Thanks mom."

* * *

By the end of the week, everyone was still abuzz about Kikyo's newly found beauty and grace. She held herself with a power unlike any they had ever seen, and what was worse was that the school now adored her even more than they had previously. Kagome groaned a little in protest, wishing that she didn't have such gossip-hungry friends. Strangely enough, the thing Kagome thought would be the biggest piece of news was hardly ever mentioned. Naraku hadn't come to school that entire week. While it was expected of a high schooler to miss a day or two, a whole week was simply unheard of. Though she didn't like him, she really did wonder what was going on with the mean demon.

She was minding her own business, using the library computers, when she heard Kikyo sit beside her. Kagome's eyes widened and she looked up at the popular girl, extremely concerned and a bit confused as to why the girl would choose to sit beside her. It couldn't be anything good. Kagome tried to play it off, acting as though she didn't even notice her. Kikyo turned to face Kagome head on and waited for her to finally address her.

"Hello, Kikyo. What brings you here, today?" she asked, turning and narrowing her eyes a little, staying on guard. Kikyo rolled her eyes.

"I thought you were actually going to keep ignoring me. Well, Miss Kagome, I was wondering how things were going for you?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. A few raven tresses slipped as she did this, framing her beautiful face. Kagome frowned a little.

"It's fine. Kikyo, what is all this about? We both know you're here for some ulterior motive," she asked bluntly, not going to allow Kikyo to mess with her head. The girl shook her head slightly and straightened her posture, looking at Kagome with a bit of amusement.

"Well, if you would like to skip the small talk, I'll put it simply. Are you and Inuyasha soul mates?" she asked, searching Kagome's face for a reaction. Kagome did her best to not let anything slip but knew that the slight pink and ever so subtle widening of her eyes gave her away. Kikyo's grin widened slightly and she nodded. "Of course. Well, I'm sure he told you that he left me because of you."

Kagome's eyes widened and she looked away. She didn't need to answer Kikyo at all.

"Have you decided how you feel about the bond? Does it disgust you?" she asked, continuing to prod. "Do you wish it would go away?"

Kagome was surprised by this. Disgusting? She couldn't say that she ever found it disgusting. Frustrating? Most definitely, but disgusting?

"Why are you asking me all this, Kikyo?" she answered instead, furrowing her brows slightly in suspicion. Kikyo gave her a cold smile and shook her head.

"Kagome, don't you realize? He only wants you because of this bond. None of it is real. It's all chemicals and magic—that's not true love," she reasoned with her, keeping her hands calmly in her lap. Kagome felt her eyebrow twitch a little at that. She had already considered all of that.

"Inuyasha doesn't love me, I know that. We're just friends," she shook her head, looking away from Kikyo's cold stare.

"Of course. Just _friends_ ," she repeated, obviously not believing what Kagome had said. "Have you tried asking him about his past relationships? How well do you actually _know_ Inuyasha?"

Kagome was quiet, trying to ignore that creeping suspicion. She knew that Inuyasha's past really wasn't any of her business, she to say that she wasn't a little curious would have been a lie.

"He's just friend, Kikyo. I don't really care about all of that stuff."

"Oh? What about that feeling you get every time you're around him? That false attraction?" she continued, sounding a little bitter. "What if you could get rid of it all?"

Kagome blinked, confused. "Kikyo, you _can't_ get rid of it."

All she got in response was a slow smirk before Kikyo moved to get her things. "Perhaps," she answered slyly, suggesting something more. "How's your aunt doing?" she asked, throwing a grin over her shoulder before leaving. Kagome's eyes widened in shock and she felt her stomach drop to the floor.

"Wait! How do you- what do- Kikyo!" she called, following the girl out of the library. When she caught up with Kikyo, she looked at the girl with confused eyes. "How do you know about my aunt?"

"What if I told you that I found a way to get rid of that pesky little bond?" she answered instead, looking down at Kagome with a raised eyebrow.

Kagome looked down, considering what she was offering. Things could be so much simpler without the bond but… it just felt so _good_ to be with Inuyasha. To be touched, held, even to be around him just felt so amazing. She had begun to wonder if these feelings were still entirely from the bond or if she herself had begun to feel that way about Inuyasha on her own. It had caused her so much frustration and stress but…

"Kikyo, I'm not sure how you found out about getting rid of bonds, but from what I understand, you aren't supposed to get rid of them. They're good for you," Kagome answered instead, shaking her head. Kikyo "tsk"ed at her and sighed.

"Foolish girl. These bonds are from demons—there's simply nothing _good_ about them. It's merely another way that they entrap the souls of humans to be miserable with them forever," she answered, giving Kagome a pointed look. "I think that you should consider it longer before making such a rash decision," she advised Kagome, stopping at a door to a classroom. "Approach me only if you wish to discuss my proposal more," she directed the girl before heading inside.

Kagome swallowed, her nerves shot as she struggled to come to terms with what had just happened.

A way to get rid of a mating bond? There simply couldn't be a way.

 _How did she know about my aunt?_

* * *

When Inuyasha sat with her in the barn in her backyard, she let out a heavy sigh. It made his ears twitch to hear such a sound. Kagome had been acting a little weird all day, but he figured that Kagome was pretty weird almost always. When she had returned from the library that day, she had seemed shaken by something, but no matter how much Inuyasha prodded, she refused to talk about it. Inuyasha was beginning to wonder if she had been messed with by someone, but when they got to the barn, Kagome looked down at his hand which was only inches from hers. He watched as she tilted her head, thinking about something.

"Inuyasha, why does this happen?" Kagome asked after a moment, looking at him with her hand hovering over his but not quite touching it. He swallowed nervously.

"Whaddya mean?"

"This," she touched her hand to his, sending shivers up his spine. He let out a shaky breath, shaking his head and trying to focus.

"The bond, of course," he answered, watching as she kept her hand on his.

"Do you think it's weird?" she asked. "Feeling so… tingly?"

He went red and looked away from her, his golden eyes darting to other side of the room. "Why are you asking questions like that? That's what's weird."

"Why do we have such a physical reaction to each other?" she asked, furrowing her brows in thought. "Is this a weird thing?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'm just as new to this as you are. I don't know if it's weird, but it's totally different than what I'm used to," he offered, trying to tread carefully. Kagome seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Kikyo approached me today," she stated, making Inuyasha's stomach drop and his heart race with worry. What had Kikyo done to Kagome to make her so closed off to him?

"Oh yeah? What did she say?" he asked, hoping to get to the bottom of everything.

"She asked me if we were soul mates," she answered, looking away from Inuyasha for a moment. "Then she asked me if I was interested in getting rid of the bond."

Inuyasha felt panic starting to set in. Even the idea of not being able to be with Kagome or feel this close to her made him shake a little in nervousness and anxiety. He shoved it down, pushing through those feelings until Kagome finished. He had never been very good at being patient.

"What did you say?" he asked, the words rushing out of his mouth.

"I didn't tell her anything. I didn't answer her question, but I thought it was weird that she approached me about having a way to get rid of the bond," she answered, looking down at her lap in deep thought. Inwardly, Inuyasha was relieved—to think that she would want to leave him when they weren't even together yet was just… it was more than he could bare.

"Yeah, that's really weird. Doesn't she know that there's no way to get rid of it?" he answered, scoffing a little at Kikyo's words.

"That's just it—" Kagome shook her head. "Why would she approach me about it if she hadn't found a way?"

"Why did she approach you at all is what I want to know," he frowned, moving his hand so that it was on top of hers. A shiver went through her body before she shrugged.

"I think… I think she's either actually found a way, or is trying to hurt me somehow," Kagome decided, frowning. "I just can't tell which one."

"Well… do you… I mean, did ya, _want_ to… you know," he stammered, not able to meet her gaze as he fidgeted. She shook her head.

"I don't really think getting rid of the bond is what's important. It's been frustrating, but it's really not hurting anything," she supplied, shrugging a little. Inuyasha swallowed away his nerves, scolding himself for being so vulnerable and self-conscious.

"Yeah, I think so too. It's really weird that she would approach you about that," Inuyasha agreed. "Did she say anything else?"

"She… she asked about my aunt," Kagome admitted quietly, looking at Inuyasha with wide, fearful eyes. "No one is supposed to know about her. No one even knows that I live with her other than my small friend group and the staff," she informed him, her frown deepening.

Inuyasha considered this, a little surprised at this as well. The only people who knew what happened this weekend were himself, his parents, Kaede, and Kagome. Unless one of those people told someone, there really shouldn't be any way that anyone should know about Kagome's aunt or the spider demon.

His eyes widened a little.

Spider demon? He swallowed, looking at Kagome with a bit of apprehension.

"I don't think that's something that Miroku or Sango would gossip about, and I know that we haven't told anyone about what happened over the weekend—how could she have known that? It's like she has some weird way of being able to see into our lives without actually being there," Kagome continued, thinking out loud.

"And where the heck has her boyfriend been? She comes back to school after the weekend and she's a completely new person and everyone just accepts that she's perfect and amazing. Well, newsflash—humans don't just become ten times more beautiful over the course of a couple days," Kagome pointed out, shaking her head in frustration.

Inuyasha blinked. Only realizing in that moment that he had actually forgotten that Naraku was Kikyo's current boyfriend. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. It was quite strange that Naraku hadn't been there in so long and that Kikyo was doing better than ever. Inuyasha shook his head. It only furthered his assumption.

"Kagome, I think I know who planted all those demons in your aunt," Inuyasha stated, frowning a little. Kagome looked at him with wide, surprised eyes.

"Who?"

"There's only one spider demon I know of in the whole city."

* * *

Author's Note:

Woo! So I hope you are enjoying everything so far! When I said the story was coming to a close, I suppose I meant that in more of a 'the exposition is done and we are in the rising action before we get to the climax' kind of way. There should be about twenty chapters total, I'd say. Please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing! Thanks for the love and support- you guys are awesome! Have a beautiful week!


	15. Chapter 15

"What do you know about the Onigumo's?" Inuyasha asked his father as he and Kagome sat in his study. The two had parted ways the night before and had made an arrangement to meet at his house around noon. Inuyasha was grateful for Kagome being there, not just because of the bond, but because he almost felt like he needed the moral support. The taller dog demon raised an eyebrow at his son.

"The demon family that used to live at the old leek farm?" his father clarified, glancing up from his desk to look at the two of them.

"Yeah. What kind of demons were they?" Inuyasha nodded, fidgeting a little in his seat. He had never been a big fan of chairs—they always made him feel tied down and suppressed. His father seemed to consider the question for a moment.

"Huh. You know, I actually can't remember. I know that they weren't always demons," he commented offhandedly. Inuyasha felt Kagome nudge him. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean by that, dad?" he asked, not sure if it was all that important, but knowing that Kagome would never stop bothering him about it until he gave her the answer.

"Well, the Onigumo's used to be poor humans back in the day. One of their ancestors got severely burned and gave up his body and soul to a swarm of demons in exchange for demonic power. Hold on," his father regaled, flipping through a dusty book for a moment before landing on a page. "Here it is. Yes, the Onigumo's aren't officially any one kind of demon, but the family crest is a spider."

Inuyasha grinned and nodded. "Bingo."

Kagome looked up at him with wide, concerned eyes. "Then…"

"Naraku was definitely the one who planted all those demons into your aunt. What's weird though, is that it seemed like Naraku had planted a few of them in there a long time before we exorcised them," Inuyasha informed her, frowning a little before looking up at his father.

"Inuyasha, that's quite a heavy accusation. If any demon were caught doing such a thing, they would be immediately executed in demon court," his father warned. "How are you so sure that it's him?"

"He's the only spider demon in the entire town. Everything was fine while he was gone. He shows up and then all of a sudden there's a giant spider demon attacking Kagome's family. Seems like too much of a coincidence for me," he responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Problem is, we haven't seen Naraku since before last weekend," Kagome reminded them, frowning.

"Seems suspicious to me," Inuyasha commented with a shake of his head.

"Well, I've been wondering a little about that as well since the last time that you were in a fight with him. His parents both died when he was rather young. He has no real family left in the demon world, which begs the question—how is he here?" his father thought aloud. Inuyasha blinked, having forgotten that part.

"Wait… he's an orphan?" Kagome asked, her voice laced heavily with sympathy. It made Inuyasha's ears flatten against his head.

"Don't go feelin' bad for the creep—jerk deserves everything that he got," Inuyasha corrected her, snorting a little even as his father gave him a somewhat disapproving look.

"Naraku has had quite the troubled past. It's really no wonder why he turned out so awfully. Planting demons into your aunt however… he could theoretically plant spawns of himself within her heart and feed off her life force… given she was weak enough to not be able to fight it off," his father reasoned with a bit of thought. Inuyasha shivered a little as he felt Kagome's hand squeeze his arm tight.

"Do you think that's what happened? That Naraku has been feeding off of my aunt's life force?" she asked, swallowing a little in worry. Inuyasha watched his father struggle to come up with a gentle answer. Inuyasha placed a hand on her back and shook his head.

"There's no way to know for sure until we find that loser and make him tell us the truth," Inuyasha assured her, rubbing her back a little and trying to make her feel better. The tender and grateful smile that he received from her made him blush and look away, only to find his father smirking back at him knowingly. He pulled his hand away—embarrassed for having been caught doing something so mushy and affectionate. Stupid bond was making him weak. When he felt her link her fingers with his, he couldn't bring himself to pull away no matter how much he tried. Inwardly, he wondered if there was anything that he could deny her.

"So what should we do? Do we have any clue where he lives?" Kagome asked, looking over at his father. Toga straightened his posture a little and nodded.

"I could look him up in the housing registry," he offered before clicking away at his laptop. "If he is living in town, he is more than likely to be staying at his family's old estate. They still own it, so I wouldn't be surprised if you found him there," he commented as he jotted the address down on a piece of scrap paper and handed it to his son.

"This is the address. It's pretty far out in the farming areas, so be careful when you lose signal," he warned, a slight frown on his face. "Do you want me to come with you? I could ask Sesshomaru to come help," he offered, looking around at his desk of paperwork.

Inuyasha frowned a little and shook his head. He knew how busy his father was and how important his work was on the demon high council. He was lucky to work from home, but it was still important that he meet deadlines and get things done. It was hard enough that his mother would come in to 'help Toga relax' which usually meant her gossiping to him for hours and him somehow getting sucked into it as well. The thought made Inuyasha smile a little and glance over at Kagome. That could be them one day.

"It's alright, dad. You have enough to do and Sesshomaru definitely wouldn't come all the way here just to help me find my way to a leak farm," Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I can handle this on my own." He felt Kagome nudge his arm a little, her silent affirmation that she would be coming along with him. Though he was worried about her safety, it did make him feel better to know that she was going to be right by his side.

 _ **As she should be,**_ his demon agreed sinisterly.

"Well, if you need anything, blow the whistle," his father nodded. Inuyasha went bright pink.

"Aw, hell naw, not the whistle. That thing is really dorky, dad!" he protested, shaking his head as he declined his father's offer. Toga grew stern.

"It's not dorky—it's effective," the older man corrected his son. Kagome seemed a little lost.

"What whistle is he talking about?" she asked, furrowing her brows a little. Inuyasha felt his ears flatten against his head in shame.

"It's this special whistle that my family used to use whenever one of us would get lost while we were out playing. We can hear it from pretty much anywhere in the city—even out in the farming land," Inuyasha explained calmly for a moment before huffing. "But it's bright pink and all the other canine-demons can hear it too. It's a literal dog whistle, so it's just really lame."

"But it's kept you safe hundreds of times and we'll never stop using it," Toga pointed out as he gave Kagome a smile and pulled out a small, pink whistle, offering it to her. Inuyasha was tempted to intervene for a moment but knew that his father would be furious if he did such a thing. Kagome accepted the whistle with a grateful nod of her head and looked up at Inuyasha with a bit of a smirk. Inwardly, he figured that his father didn't understand the kind of power that he had just given the girl.

"So, if I blow on this, you'll be able to hear it and know where we are?" Kagome clarified, looking at the whistle a little skeptically. His father nodded.

"I will be able to hear it anywhere. I would prefer that you two have someone else with you, but if that is not a possibility, please be careful," Toga assured Kagome before looking at his son with a bit of a frown. It normally would have irritated Inuyasha by how much his father was worried about him. It normally would have felt like a commentary on his ability to protect people. At this moment though, possibly because Kagome was right there, possibly because he had already been beaten by Naraku before, he decided to sigh and give his father a nod.

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Whatever, let's get goin'," Inuyasha muttered as he rolled his eyes and grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled her out of the room, ear flattened against his head in embarrassment.

* * *

"Your dad is really helpful," Kagome commented with a smile, looking down at the whistle that she had been given. She had to admit it, it was a little strange to receive something like this as a way of communicating with someone, but she figured that if it worked, then that was the only real thing that mattered. She glanced over at Inuyasha who kept his eyes locked onto the road with a straight face. She narrowed her eyes a little, able to see the stress worrying at the corners of his eyes and mouth. She placed a hand on his and gave it a light rub, watching as he jumped a little more than he normally would have. A frown stained her own lips, worried for him.

"Yeah… the geezer is alright sometimes," he shrugged, keeping his gaze on the road. Kagome squinted a little, struggling to find the right words to say.

"Are you worried, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked finally, deciding to get straight to it. Inuyasha refused to make eye contact with her and shrugged.

"As if. If anything, he should be worried about seeing _me_. I've got my sword with me this time, so I'd like to see him try something," he ground out, as though he were trying to assure himself more than her. Kagome nodded and gave his hand a squeeze. She watched as he calmed from the action and sighed quietly. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would he come to school for a few weeks only to leave? Why the hell hasn't Kikyo said anything? Nothin's adding up."

"What do you think happened?" Kagome asked, her voice soft as she tried to calm him.

"I dunno. He could be laying low since the whole spider thing, but that just isn't his style. Naraku doesn't lay low. I've never known Naraku to run from anything," Inuyasha answered, sighing a little as the dirt road began to darken with the thickness of the trees overhead. Kagome frowned, noticing how much sinister the whole thing looked. Suddenly, she understood why his father had been so weary to let them travel into these woods on their own. Someone could easily get lost in these woods.

Thankfully, the darkened dirt road seemed to clear up enough to allow more light to filter in and soon enough, they began to approach a small, dingy house in the middle of a clearing. The house was entirely broken down and if they hadn't already known that Naraku was living there, they would have easily been inclined to assume that it was abandoned or condemned. Kagome's breath hitched in her throat as they slowly closed the gap between his car and the house. Inwardly, Kagome found herself feeling a little bad for the poor high schooler that had to live here. This place was unsuited for the bugs that most likely lived there, let alone any living person. A memory fluttered to the front of her mind. Something her mother had told her once when she was little. The woman had told her that homes were a reflection of the soul.

An uneasy shudder racked Kagome's body as the car came to an eerily slow stop, hidden somewhere behind several big trees. Clearly, Inuyasha didn't want his car to be seen from anyone inside.

"Inuyasha…" she whispered, inching closer to him for comfort. The aura that this home gave off was disconcerting and somewhat… hollow? Kagome felt Inuyasha give her hand a squeeze.

"Kagome, this could be dangerous. Will you please stay in the car?" he asked her quietly, his brows furrowed in seriousness. She swallowed and looked around. The truth was, she didn't want to be alone, even if she were to be in a locked car. She shook her head.

"Kagome… seriously. If he's in there, he might try to attack you or something. I don't want you to get hurt," he plead with her, his mouth turning down into a worried frown. She bit her lip.

"I… I can't stay out here. Please take me with you," she stated quietly, hating to sound so scared, but the vibe that this entire house was putting off was enough to make her not care.

"… Fine, but stay close to me," he relented after an anxious moment.

* * *

The steps to the home creaked and squealed under their feet, dust getting kicked up as the made their way across the rotting floorboards. The rusty doorknob fell off in Inuyasha's hand and Kagome watched in nearly abject horror as the door opened on its own. She had seen enough scary movies to know that this was more than just an ominous sign.

As they entered the home, no lights were on within the dwelling. Cobwebs littered the walls and corners, trapping various leaves and assortments of insects within its sticky entrapment. The house seemed to groan and sigh with each step they took, every floorboard threatening to give out under way of their weight. Kagome stayed close to Inuyasha, holding onto the back of his shirt with a white-knuckle grip. If the boy minded, he made no sound even as he led them through the single-story shack. Inuyasha moved with trepidation, his step sure, but careful. Kagome knew that Inuyasha would never let himself shake, but with the stiffness of his movements, she could tell that his nerves were getting the best of him. One hand clung to his sword at his hip as the duo approached the door that led to another room in the back of the house. Inuyasha took a sniff and narrowed his eyes, seeming to be considering something intensely. He looked at her seriously, his eyes resolute and worried as they commanded her silently to stay put. She normally would have been inclined to argue with him, but she knew that he wasn't going to budge on this and she wasn't willing to risk making a sound.

She hung back and merely watched as he entered the room, the door creaking and screaming under his manipulation.

Inuyasha knew that this was the room. He knew it before he had even entered. Regardless of this, he knew that nothing would have prepared him for the sight that was laid before him. Not even ten feet in front of him laid his childhood tormentor, trapped within a web of his own doing. The man seemed to be entirely unconscious and though he was normally pale, his face seemed to be more wan than usual. Inuyasha kept his grip tight on the hilt of his sword as he approached the cobweb, making note that the rest of the room was also covered in webs and the like. When he was directly in front of Naraku, Inuyasha blinked when he realized that he could not hear a heartbeat. Inuyasha's head whipped around, looking at his companion with a look of shock and worry.

"He ain't breathin'," he whispered loudly, urging her to come inside. Kagome's eyes widened as she hurried in, approaching the cocoon, though not too closely, Inuyasha made certain. She placed a hand in front of his nose and waited for a moment.

"He's breathing, it's just very faint," she declared quietly, letting out a breath of her own. Inuyasha was surprised by himself when he let out a quiet sigh of relief as well. It could be that he was grateful that there was no dead body because that meant that there were no demons in the area that wanted to kill anyone. He stuck with that and ignored the curious look that Kagome gave him. "What do you think happened?"

"Honestly…" Inuyasha's voice trailed off, looking around the room for some kind of explanation. "I really don't know. Naraku is the only one capable of making these kind of webs, as far as I know, and I can't seem to pick up any residual scents in this house other than his. Wait…" he paused for a moment, his nose sticking up slightly into the air as he took a sniff. His eyes widened in surprise when he came back with nothing but the smells of an old house. "No… there's _no_ scents in this house at all… that can't be right. He's right in front of me," Inuyasha frowned, trying to reason with himself and figure out what exactly was going on. He tried to piece together the information as best he could, but he had never been very good at critical thinking.

"What do you mean you can't smell him?" he heard Kagome ask, though his thoughts were on the situation at hand.

 _He's still alive, trapped in his own web, nearly dead, and there's no scents to be found anywhere. Surely Kikyo has visited at some point, she would have easily seen this mess and done something—_

"Inuyasha, we need to leave. I think someone's coming," Kagome whispered, shaking Inuyasha and pulling on his arm. She had apparently been trying to get his attention for some time. His head whipped in the direction of the noise coming from outside and he hurried to pull Kagome to the back entrance and close the door behind them. They darted to the closest tree, hiding behind its girth and within the darkness of the wood. Inuyasha's ear perked up as he heard the squeaking of the door and the creaking of the floorboards. He did his best to listen to the conversation from within the home.

" _Oh, look at you, you poor thing—stuck with the worst of it. It's better this way, is it not?"_ the feminine voice asked, though Inuyasha couldn't entirely make out who it was. " _I can see you perking up already. Even after everything, you still look at me with desire and adoration?"_ Inuyasha furrowed his brows, suspicions rising. " _I only came because I do not wish for you to die from this curse. Don't worry, soon enough, it will all be over. With the power you've given me, I'm now able to begin the process. Just be patient, Naraku,"_ he heard the voice soothe and easily enough, Inuyasha began to piece it all together.

"It's her…" he whispered, his voice light in disbelief. He felt Kagome give his arm a squeeze—most likely to ask a question but somehow it gave him a great deal of comfort to know that she was right there, waiting for him.

" _I must go, I have homework. I'll see you in… oh, maybe a week or so. Who knows?"_ the voice taunted with a bit of a smugness in her tone. Inuyasha listened as she closed the door behind her and left in her car.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, catching a glimpse of the raven-haired woman he used to call his love leave the scene.

Things were starting to make sense.

* * *

"Why was Kikyo here?" Kagome asked, somewhat bewildered that it could possibly be the head cheerleader of their school.

"It all makes sense, doesn't it? Kikyo comes back looking better than ever, smelling like demon, and there's no Naraku anywhere to be seen. Next thing we know, we find Naraku completely immobilized in his house, surrounded by cobwebs and nearly dead. There's no scent in the house because Kikyo knows how to mask scents. Remember what I told you about her talking about some kind of curse? Maybe Naraku got hexed or something like your aunt?" he explained. Kagome considered this for a moment before her eyes widened.

"Inuyasha… remember when I told you about Kikyo approaching me in the library? About finding a way to get rid of the mating bond?" Kagome proposed slowly at first. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, starting to follow her line of thinking. "Then she was talking about a curse and him having the worst of it? I think… I think Naraku was her soul mate… and she found a way to separate them."

Kagome watched as Inuyasha nearly pulled away from her in shock and a mix of disgust.

"You think that Naraku was Kikyo's soul mate?" he asked incredulously, his eyebrow raised in skepticism. Kagome nodded.

"She was going on and on about how the whole thing wasn't real and how the feeling were forced—maybe she couldn't stand being his mate and found some way to give it all to him?" she asked, furrowing her brows I thought as she reasoned through her thinking.

"But _how?_ There's no way to do that. I've asked and asked, and my parents have told me each time that you just can't get rid of the bond," Inuyasha protested, crossing his arms over his chest in a defensive manner when they reached a stop light. Kagome watched his actions and wondered if he was feeling insecure about there possibly being a way to separate the two of them.

"Well, Kikyo found a way. I'm not sure how my aunt ties into all of this, but I'm almost certain now that Naraku at least had _something_ to do with what happened," she replied, nodding her head resolutely. "Should we call the demon police?" she asked, looking at Inuyasha seriously.

"The demon police? You want to get the law involved?" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "My dad is plenty," he asserted as they drove on down the highway. It was nighttime by the time that they reached his home.

"Inuyasha, I'm just saying that this problem might be bigger than you or I could—" Kagome was cut off by the sound of lightning cracking in the sky. Kagome glanced out of her window, surprised to find that the moon seemed to still look big and bright. Strangely enough, clouds seemed to block out most of the moon's glow. Inuyasha stiffened at the noise and Kagome noticed his anxiety rise more than it had been.

"Something's not right," he stated seriously, his voice raising a little in concern. Kagome looked over at him with worry.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice a little slow and quiet. Inuyasha shook his head and pushed on the gas harder, forcing the car to accelerate down the road towards his house. Kagome held her armrests with fear, sitting upright stiffly as they shot down the road.

"Something isn't right, it's not right," Inuyasha muttered, repeating the phrase over and over to himself until they came to a screeching halt in his driveway. He burst open the door of his car and all but ran into his own house. Kagome looked on with a bit of horror, uncertain as to how she was supposed to react. Normally, Inuyasha would wait for her or at least give her directions, so this was not only unusual, it meant that something was _seriously_ wrong.

* * *

Once he entered the house, he ran straight to his parents' room and found them sitting on their bed, looking at one another with a bit of concern. When he entered the room, Inuyasha's mother sighed with relief and hurried up from her place on the bed to embrace him tenderly, moving him side to side a little as she squeezed him. Inuyasha, though glad to be hugged by his mother, could not quiet the worry and nagging concern in the back of his mind.

"We were starting to get worried about you! I can't believe that you went all the way out there by yourself. You didn't even blow the whistle," she shook her head, rubbing her face a little against her son's cheeks. He sighed and wrapped his own arms around her, rubbing the back of her head consolingly.

"Mom, it's alright. I'm here now. We're fine. But seriously, did you guys feel that? There's something not right," he proposed to them, his eyes wide and his voice laced with concern. His mother nodded.

"We have been trying to sort out what it was. We can't seem to place it, but something feels very off," his father spoke up, shaking his head.

"I think something happened with our bond, but your father insists that nothing happened. I'm inclined to agree with him, but I still feel like something isn't quite right," she explained, glancing over at her husband. He shook his head and moved from his place on the bed, approaching them and placing a hand on his wife's shoulder. He jumped a tiny bit at the contact.

"See? Everything is fine."

The smaller parent shook her head and pulled away from her son. "Toga, I'm telling you, I'm not feeling anything when you do that."

"We've been mated for a long time. Maybe it's just starting to lose that effect?" he reasoned with a shrug smiling easily and pulling his wife in for a warm hug. "You go on to bed, dear. I'll walk Inuyasha to his room," he explained to the woman before letting her go. She seemed to want to protest, but instead waved and sat back down on their bed. Inuyasha allowed himself to be shown out.

"Dad, you shouldn't discount what mom's telling you," Inuyasha warned quietly once they were downstairs. His father was absolutely _not_ leading him to his room. "Me and Kagome encountered something today that I think may have you more worried than you know."

When they got outside and out to the car, Inuyasha found Kagome sitting anxiously in her seat. She hurried out and gave his father a quick bow.

"Is everything alright, Inuyasha?" she asked quickly, her face tight with worry. Inuyasha frowned a little, unsure how to answer that.

"Tell me everything."

* * *

"This… this is much worse than I thought…" Toga muttered quietly after listening to their story. He shook his head and looked down at the ground. "Then, it could be possible that something _did_ happen to the bond?" he asked, glancing up at the second story with a steely gaze that Inuyasha had grown to understand was worry.

"Kikyo _did_ say that now she had the power to lift the 'curse'. It could be that the lightning we saw earlier was some kind of incantation or spell?" Kagome reasoned, frowning a little. Inuyasha nodded.

"If the same spell that was put on Naraku was cast, then could it be possible that you are going to be holding the bond entirely on your own?" Inuyasha asked, looking at his father with apprehension. His father seemed to set his features into something cold and deadly.

"For her sake, I certainly hope that that isn't the case."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I'm back!~~~ So sorry about the delay.

As far as the story goes- I hope you're liking where it's going. Things will only to continue to move faster, I promise.

Enjoy your week and please leave a review if you are liking what I'm doing!

Thanks~~~!


	16. Chapter 16

Inuyasha sat in the driver's seat of his convertible and ran a hand through his long, silver hair. With a heavy sigh, he closed his eyes, thinking back on everything that had happened that day. After talking with his father, he was definitely more shaken than he had been. It wasn't that he was worried about his parents or that Kikyo had found some way to lift the curse, it was that he could already feel the obsessive nature of the bond growing. After dropping Kagome off that night, he found himself hovering at bottom of the steps, wishing that he could just get in and keep her close to him. He shook his head and struggled to start the car, his hands shaking with withdrawal. Swallowing nervously, the engine quietly hummed with life, mocking him in its ease and calm.

There had to be a way to get the curse back or at least removed entirely from both him _and_ Kagome. His heart burned at that thought—leaving her so completely felt like it would kill him. At this point, it seemed entirely possible that it could. As he drove down the pitch-black road, he found himself unable to keep himself from twitching slightly as he thought of what he would do to Kikyo the next time he saw her.

 _ **She's the threat. She's coming between me and my mate**_ , his inner demon growled, his hands squeezing tightly on the steering wheel, a white-knuckle grip. He tried to shake his anger, but it just kept building and building.

 _ **The answer is to get rid of her.**_

 _How?_

 _ **Kill. Her.**_

"No," he growled aloud, nearly swerving on the road. Inwardly, he was grateful that there was no one else on the roads tonight, but it made him unnerved regardless. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he was so opposed to the idea of just killing her. It wasn't uncommon in the demon world to kill demons or humans who came between two demons during courtship. He supposed it had to be because she was human and had once been someone that he had cared for. A sharp pain stabbed the back of his head, causing him to swerve on the road slightly, driving him into the brush of tall grass on the side of the road.

He stopped the car immediately and grabbed at the area, pulling his hand away to find nothing. His eyes widened at the result and he tried to form a sound but all that came out was a guttural snarl. He blinked a bit and swallowed, extremely confused by the entire situation. He bit down on his lip tightly and started the car up again, deciding that he was getting close enough to house that it should be okay.

As he continued to drive, thoughts plagued him—terrible, violent thoughts that he was certain most full-blooded demons didn't even think of. It was only once he had pulled into his driveway that his body… well… he could only describe it as one massive twitch. His hands jerked to the side, forcing the car to turn widely right into the grass of his lawn. With wide eyes, he hurried out of the car, trying to get himself under control. He glanced up, noticing that the moon was bright and full… but not entirely. It wasn't quite full just yet, something that seemed to calm him somehow. He took a few deep breaths.

 _Calm down. Why am I acting so crazy? Where's Kagome? No, she's home, it's okay. I'm okay._

 _ **For now.**_

His back arched sharply at that, forcing him to his knees with a loud snarl. He felt his claws growing, painfully stretching out from beneath his skin. He could feel his teeth pulling down, sending his headache into overdrive. He pounded a fist on the ground, trying to fight against whatever was going on.

 _KNOCK IT OFF._

 _ **SUBMIT.**_

Just as he felt himself starting to breathe heavier, strong, tight arms wrapped around his chest and a sharp pain directly into his neck. He thrashed and fought for several moments before finally succumbing to the lethargy that now coursed through his veins.

* * *

Kagome struggled to sleep that night, feeling a strange emptiness. There was something seriously wrong going on. She rolled her eyes at her own thought process. Of course there was something wrong going on—Kikyo had somehow managed to lift the bond. Kagome looked down at her hands, which were strangely still and calm. She opened and closed them slowly, watching the muscles stretch and move under her pale skin. There was a loneliness in her hands, a slight melancholy that had already begun to settle within her being. She was no longer plagued by the incessant need to be near him or with him but… his face never left her thoughts. The image of his forlorn expression, longing and anxious, as he had left her that night—she could tell that leaving her had been nearly impossible for him. She had seen his car still sitting outside in the driveway for several moments after they had said goodnight.

She had a bit of time to reflect on how she was feeling. There was a definite bit of sadness, a longing for that feeling of… fulfillment? She missed that strange pull that had warmed her gut and made her fingers tingle in anticipation. Strangely enough, she couldn't feel any less strongly about him. She still cared deeply for him, still wished to see him and make him feel better, still wished to be held in his arms. Her brows furrowed in thought at that. So the bond hadn't fabricated those feelings—they were her own. With the bond, it had been as though she was tied at the hip to someone she had known for forever, but without the bond… it felt as though she was missing that other half, that other part of herself that she had grown to care so deeply for. Maybe even… love?

To think about such a thing right now was a little ridiculous, and she scolded herself for even considering the thought with such stressful circumstances surrounding the situation. With Inuyasha getting the brunt of the bond, she wondered if he was suffering as Naraku was? Her eyes closed tightly as the image of Naraku's pale pained face clouded her thoughts. She hoped that Inuyasha wouldn't end up like that, which meant that they would need to reverse the curse that Kikyo had cast, if it even _was_ a curse. Kagome still couldn't understand how Kikyo had even accomplished such a seemingly impossible task. Then again… Kagome narrowed her eyes in thought. Kikyo hadn't completely gotten rid of the bond, she had just transferred most of it to the demons. Kagome blinked at that. She would need to talk to Koga as soon as possible to confirm her idea.

As she slipped into the darkness of sleep, Inuyasha's name fell from her lips, a quiet cry.

The next day was Saturday, and as she rose early, Kagome stretched and found that her muscles were stiff and sore. Surely there hadn't been much reason for the stiffness, but she shrugged it off as she hurried to get ready. As she continued to get ready, she noticed that Inuyasha had yet to text her. On a normal day, she might not have thought much of it, but considering everything that had happened yesterday, she figured that he would be more inclined to talk to her as soon as possible. She stared at her phone for a minute before sending him a text, knowing that he almost always responded.

With that out of the way, Kagome hurried down the stairs to her aunt, checking up on her and going through their morning routine. Since the exorcism, her aunt could almost literally do nothing for herself. She had to be dressed and undressed by Kagome, fed by Kagome, and bathed by Kagome. Unfortunately, this also meant that Kagome had to change the adult diaper that her aunt wore during the day and night. The young teenager was sad for her aunt's complete loss of independence. She was sure that if her aunt were still in there somewhere, she would be horribly embarrassed. Kagome tried to be as professional as she could about everything, but changing the diaper was probably the most invasive thing she did and made Kagome uncomfortable every time. She was looking forward to the day when they would finally get a professional caretaker for the poor woman.

When she finished the morning routine, she left the house in a hurry and donned her bike, pedaling towards Koga's house. His was one of the nicer homes in the neighborhood (not nearly as nice as Inuyasha's, but still quite nice) and was easy to find because it was made almost entirely of stone and a warm, brown wood. She wanted to go check up on Inuyasha, but she knew that Koga would be more inclined to answer her questions if he knew that Inuyasha wasn't going to be there. When she got to the door, she could hear growling and howling from within. She was about to knock when the door swung open to reveal a tall, steely-eyed man who appeared to be middle-aged and hardened. She assumed that this was Koga's father and immediately bowed to greet him.

"Hello, Mr….," her voice trailed off and she realized suddenly that she had never learned Koga's last name. "….Koga's dad. I'm Kagome Higurashi, one of his friends from school. Is he home?" she asked, trying to recover from her flub. The demon stared down at her with a bit of a scowl and narrowed his eyes.

"Koga's friend, eh?" he asked, his voice like a low growl. Thankfully, Kagome heard Koga's call to his dad and approached the two of them at the doorway, smiling widely once he laid eyes on his friend.

"Oh hey! Dad, this is Kagome, the human girl I told you about," he introduced, patting his dad on the shoulder and somehow managing to step in front of his father. "We've got plans today, so I'll be home later. See ya!" he bid to his dad before shutting the door quickly and grabbing Kagome's hand. She could tell from the dark circles under his eyes that something had been bothering him all night.

"Sorry to bother you on the weekend," she apologized as she walked with him to her bike. He shook her apology off.

"Nah, thanks for bailing me out of there. My dad's been a nightmare all morning. We all woke up and felt crappy, but my old man has been shouting and barking at us since he got up this morning," he complained as he shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "So, what brings you over here?"

Kagome frowned a little at hearing his plight but looked forward resolutely before stopping him and looking up at him. "How's Ayame?"

His eyes widened and he blinked in surprise at her words. Koga seemed to think about it for a moment and shrugged.

"I dunno, I haven't talked to her today. She's been blowing up my phone all morning, but I've just been really preoccupied with my family," Koga shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why?"

Kagome shook her head. "What about your mom? How has she been this morning?"

He seemed to reproach her, backing away a little at the question. "Kagome, you gotta tell me what's going on. Wolves are very secretive creatures when it comes to the pack, so you gotta be more generous with that information if you are wanting to know about my mother," he warned her, folding his arms across his chest. Kagome sighed and nodded.

"I think someone figured out a way to lift the demon mating bond," she answered, deciding to be a little more vague than she normally would have been. Koga's eyes widened in shock and seemed to nearly fall over with that news. He looked back at his house with a bit of fear. "I was trying to see how it's affecting different types of couples. It seems like in human/demon couples, the demon keeps all of the bond while the human gets none. I just wanted to see how it was working for demon/demon couples," she admitted, messing with her hair nervously.

"I…" Koga stammered, swallowing and looking away for a moment before shaking his head. "My mom's been clingy and needy all morning. She's been holding onto my dad and trying to get his attention since she woke up…" he muttered, his voice a little shaky. "Kagome, demon males change a lot when they go through the bond. My mom told me that my dad mellowed out a lot with the bond. If that bond is gone…" he looked back at his house with a bit of fear. "My siblings… We need to get all this fixed. How do you know it's been lifted?"

Kagome frowned a little, placing a hand on his arm and giving it a firm squeeze. "Just trust me on this. I think I know who did it, too. I just need more evidence and research. Can I count on you to help me out?" she asked, looking up at Koga's worried blue eyes. She so rarely saw his expression so worried and exhausted, but she knew that they only way to make it go away was to find Kikyo and reverse everything that's gone on.

He gave her a soft smile before morphing into a determine smirk, grabbing her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze as well. "You know it."

"First thing though—we need to talk to Inuyasha. He left really weird last night, so I need to check in on him. Can you go get Sango and Miroku and fill them in on everything?" she asked, watching as he nodded. She let go of his arm after a moment and turned to leave before he called to her. She turned around, looking up at him curiously as he looked down at her seriously.

"Be careful, Kagome."

* * *

The weirdest part about being semi-conscious is that while you can hear everything that's being said, you can't actually understand any of it. Inuyasha could tell that he was laying down, his eyes focused on someone, and he could feel a dull pounding in the back of his head. There were several smells in the room he was in, his own, he assumed, but he couldn't focus on any particular one at a time. Someone was looking back at him, a tall person with silver hair. Himself? His father? He felt a dull vibration rattle through his throat and chest. He knew this person but couldn't place where he knew him from.

The figure moved closer ever so slightly and Inuyasha felt that vibration rattle around his chest once again. Was he growling? The person may have tried to say something, but Inuyasha wouldn't have been able to understand even if he wanted to.

His nose lifted to the air, catching a certain scent on the wind. His eyes widened and he whipped his head towards the window.

 _ **MATE.**_

Inuyasha felt his body pulling and shoving, thrashing around in what seemed to be restraints. When had he been restrained? The figures in the room moved towards the window, shutting it tightly and cutting off the scent. It was too late, though—he had already caught wind of the scent that he knew he had to follow. He had to check on his mate, he had to make sure that she was okay. She had to be. He felt a primal fear in the back of his chest, worry spreading like a flame. He couldn't bare the thought of his mate possibly being hurt. Voices started to get louder and he thought that he heard something crack before an arm broke free.

He felt new pressure on the arm that was flailing and trying to rip the other restraints, the pressure held him down. He wanted to tell them to stop. He wanted to get free, to be let loose.

He knew that logically, if he calmed down they would probably stop holding him down, but he couldn't. He had to struggle against them. They wouldn't understand. They didn't know what he was going through. What he was thinking.

" _ **MATE!"**_ he roared, his chest humming with the force of his call. The figures did not release their hold on him.

There was no choice, they weren't going to let go. He began snapping, his teeth clicking as he tried to bite and claw his way out. He was mostly unsuccessful until he felt his fangs find purchase in the tender flesh of one of the figures. Hot blood coated his mouth, but it gave him enough time to sit up and claw through the other restraint. The figures called out to him, huddling around the person he bit but also trying to talk to him. It was no use. He wouldn't stick around long enough to try and understand.

Suddenly, he felt two large, hard hands forcefully shove him down, pressing on his chest like a cinderblock. Any air that he had in his lungs was quickly knocked out of him and it left him reeling.

It was then that his foggy vision began to spin and he felt dizzy once again. He needed to get to his mate, but he needed to heal first. Something wasn't right with his head. Just as he was about to fall back into the darkness of sleep, his spine tingled and his eyes lazily swept to see what was causing it. His foggy vision, unable to focus or see anything clearly, could only see the one figure that stood in the doorway. His eyes widened and he tried to struggle once again, though his strength was now depleted. It was his mate. She was there and she looked scared. What was causing her to be so worried? He felt a high pitched sound leave his throat, his ears flattening. He needed her, needed to hold her and figure out what was wrong.

" _ **Mate…"**_ he called, his voice hoarse from the growling and the yelling. Her scent welled up around him, her fear stinging his nose, making him dizzy and light-headed. It was inevitable, he was going to pass out. He hoped that she would forgive him. He would wake soon enough and make everything better but… for now….

He slept.

* * *

"Kagome, you need to leave," Toga warned, pulling off of his son and binding him down in new restraints. The young teen looked on in horror at what she had seen and though she nodded, she couldn't bring herself to move. The older man sighed and looked to the other tall man standing in the room.

"Son, take Izayoi and Kagome to my study. I'll be there soon to dress her wounds," Toga instructed the other man who Kagome now assumed was Inuyasha's older brother. She looked to the man who appeared to be completely calm and collected. He looked very similar to Inuyasha in appearance, though all of his features were sharper and narrower, more elfish. He seemed to glide across the room as he carefully picked up Izayoi from where she sat against the wall. He passed Kagome briskly, not bothering to look her way as he continued to move across the hallway floor.

Kagome threw another glance at Inuyasha's sleeping form. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting when she had arrived, but it certainly wasn't Inuyasha thrashing around like… like a caged animal. His wild eyes had seemed so feral—so lost. It was as though he didn't even know who he was or who anyone else was. That much had to be true if he had been the one who caused so much damage to his own mother, who she knew Inuyasha adored more than life itself.

The way he had called out to her, whining, desperate and needing her, it caused her heart to break a little. It reminded her of Naraku, weak and willing to die just to be in the same room as his mate.

"Come, now," a deep voice ordered her, quiet, yet unquestionable. Kagome jumped a little at the sound and turned to face him only to have to look up. The tall man was no longer holding Izayoi, but was now looking down at her, his eyes seeming to see something just past her—possibly looking into Inuyasha's room as well. He was undeniably beautiful, but something about his features and stillness gave off the impression of lethality. This was a man who would have no problem hurting someone.  
She nodded her head stiffly and followed him as he glided across the floor, his feet making no sound as he moved. She almost wondered if he was walking at all. Soon enough, they were in Toga's study where Izayoi was sitting in her husband's chair, looking out the large window behind her, clutching her arm. When Kagome entered the room, the other woman turned and nodded at her escort.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru. If it's not too much trouble, would you please bring us some tea?" she asked, her voice soft and a little shaky. The man Kagome now knew as Sesshomaru seemed to merely leave, causing Kagome to wonder if he had actually ignored Izayoi's request.

"Kagome, you came at a bit of a bad time, I'm afraid," Izayoi laughed weakly, shaking her head.

"What was going on in there?" Kagome asked, her brows furrowing in confusion and worry. Izayoi waved a hand at her, trying to reassure her.

"It's not much really. When Inuyasha was very young, he would sometimes get a little feisty around the full moon time. It seems that something similar is happening right now. Toga found him wandering around last night acting violent and strange… he had to knock him unconscious in order to bring him in the house," she answered with a frown.

"Izayoi… he looked… is he okay?"

Izayoi sighed and shook her head. "It has to be whatever is going on with the mating bond. Nothing else has changed except that," she surmised, looking down at her hand.

Kagome followed the woman's gaze and noticed the large ring on her finger. "Do you feel any different?"

Izayoi shook her head slightly. "Not exactly. I can feel that something is missing, but it isn't as though my feelings towards my husband have changed. I'll always love him," she answered with a soft smile. "The bond didn't make me love him, it just helped us realize that we were meant to be together."

Kagome went quiet for a moment, thinking about how she was feeling and nodded in agreement. "Has Toga been acting any different?" she asked instead, wondering if what was happening with Koga's parents was happening with Inuyasha's as well. Izayoi had to think about it for a moment before answering.

"He's certainly been more attached to me, but nothing too strange," she answered as she looked out the window. "Nothing like what is going on with Inuyasha…"

Kagome frowned. "Is he going to be okay?"

"We aren't sure. We're having a doctor come in to look him over, but we don't know how long he's going to be like this," she admitted, holding her injured arm close to her chest.

"What exactly _is_ he going through?" Kagome asked, thinking of the feral stare he gave her, sending cold shivers up her spine.

"He's in demon form," his mother answered quietly, looking down at her arm. "When he's like this, there's no way to communicate with him. He can't tell who anyone is or what anyone is saying and he remembers none of it when he finally comes to."

Her words made Kagome's eyes widen in shock. "He seemed to recognize _me_ though," she pointed out quietly. Izayoi shrugged.

"I'm guessing it's because you're his soulmate. Nothing matters more to a demon than their mate, especially if they aren't entirely mated yet," she responded with a bit of a sad frown.

Kagome was about to ask more about the whole 'entirely mated' thing when Inuyasha's brother and father entered the room. Sesshomaru was holding a tray with a whole tea set on it, his face entirely passive as he sat it down in front of Inuyasha's mother. The woman looked up at her stepson gratefully and thanked him as she took a sip from the teacup that had already been poured for her. Toga immediately moved to take care of his wife, several medical supplies in his arms as he went to work.

"I apologize for you having to witness Inuyasha acting the way he was. He isn't himself right now," the older man sighed as he cleaned up his wife's wound.

"Did you make sure that the restraints aren't too tight?" Izayoi asked, her brows furrowed in worry. Toga chuckled a little and rolled his eyes at his wife's words.

"They aren't too tight, dear. I can assure you of that. Now, Kagome, it isn't that we don't enjoy your company, but what did you come here for?" Toga asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Kagome felt her face heat up as she remembered that she virtually let herself in. The Takahashi's had been extremely gracious in letting her stop by anytime she felt like it, so the thought merely slipped her mind when she thought that she needed to get Inuyasha.

"I came to get him to go with us to confront Kikyo," Kagome admitted, the words seeming a little lame as she spoke them in front of two intimidating presences. Her eyes glanced up at Inuyasha's brother who seemed to be glaring at her somewhat. "We figured that with enough persuasion, she might be able to reverse whatever she did to the mating bond," Kagome further explained. Toga's eyebrows raised and Kagome watched as he looked over at his eldest son who was now focused acutely on Kagome.

"Do you know where she is?" Toga asked slowly, now looking back at his wife's arm as he finished wrapping the bandages around the appendage.

Kagome shook her head. "We don't know exactly where she is, but we know where she is keeping Naraku, so we figured we would start there," she answered a bit lamely. She tried to keep her eyes away from the older brother whose glare only hardened as she continued to speak.

"Who is 'we'?" Toga questioned, turning to look at Kagome fully. The teen squirmed under their gaze.

"Me, Sango, Miroku, and Koga," she answered, biting her lip nervously.

"Three humans and a demon?" Toga asked with a raised eyebrow. "That sounds incredibly dangerous.

"If they are just going to persuade her to fix it, it might not be all that dangerous," Izayoi pointed out.

"If Kikyo was able to find the power necessary to transfer the flow of the mating bond from not just herself but to every person in the neighboring areas, it might be more dangerous than you think," Toga replied softly, petting his wife's hand gently. "Kagome, this might be too dangerous for a group of teenagers to be taking care of."

"Maybe, but most of us aren't affected by the spell, so it gives us a bit of an advantage," Kagome reasoned, though she was inwardly fretting a bit about the prospects of them being able to handle the situation without Inuyasha. "That's also why I came to get Inuyasha. He's a pretty good fighter and I figured he might be able to talk some sense into Kikyo since they had a past together," she explained, though admitting that he and Kikyo used to be a thing hurt her heart a little.

Toga sighed a little and shook his head. "This entire situation seems extremely dangerous, but it would be better for you all to get involved than I. Kikyo is disturbing ancient spells and customs of a demon world that she knows nothing about. The youkai counsel will undoubtedly execute her if they were to find out that she was the culprit," the man explained, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Would it not be best for her to perish?" voiced the eldest son, finally speaking up though his words were like ice in the room. Kagome looked at him with wide eyes.

"Uh…" Kagome faltered, unsure how to respond.

"Sesshomaru, this girl does not understand what she is doing. Surely she does not deserve to die for ignorance?" Izayoi reasoned, looking at her stepson with a raised eyebrow. The tall son merely glanced the woman's way.

"Many have died for far less," he answered simply, though Kagome could hear a certain growl underlying his words.

Toga gave his son a warning look and shook his head. "If we are able to solve this without blood being spilt, that would be most ideal."

Sesshomaru grunted in response and turned his head to look out the window once again. Kagome had a feeling that if she was unsuccessful in getting Kikyo to reverse what she did, then the woman may be at much higher risk than she may realize. The uncomfortable silence in the room was thankfully interrupted by a ringing at the door.

"That must be the doctor," Izayoi supplied, looking up at her husband with a nod.

"I'll go get it," Toga assured his wife, placing a soft kiss on her head as he exited the room, leaving the girls with a tense demon.

* * *

Within Inuyasha's room, the group stood around, watching as the doctor examined Inuyasha. Things were quiet, only being interrupted by the sound of Inuyasha's ragged breathing and the occasional hum of the doctor. When the man was finished, he turned around and looked at the group.

"It would appear that he is harboring the entirety of the mating bond within his spirit," the doctor stated calmly. Inuyasha's parents frowned at that, looking at their son with worry. "The human half of his body cannot handle the entirety of the demonic spell and so his body is reacting by oversupplying his bloodstream with demon blood," he explained further, looking at the group with a bit of a frown.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Izayoi asked softly.

"The best thing would be to get the bond fixed so that he isn't carrying the entire thing. In the meantime, I suppose that being around his fated would possibly help. Something like this has never happened before, so my answers are all conjecture," he admitted, shaking his head.

Kagome felt the eyes of the group fall to her, and the pressure felt intense. She was going to be responsible for helping Inuyasha to get better?

"What if it doesn't work and he possibly hurts her?" Izayoi posed, glancing at Kagome with an anxious look.

"Then I would suggest getting a spiritual healer to come and put some suppressant spells on his demonic blood until the bond can be fixed," the doctor offered, furrowing his brows in sympathy.

Toga nodded and thanked the doctor for coming and followed him to the front door, leaving the rest of the group to think about what was said.

"Kagome, you don't have to risk anything. We can just get Kaede to come in and put some suppressants on him. We've had it done before, we know it works temporarily," Izayoi assured the girl, turning and placing a hand on Kagome's shoulder. The teen looked on at the boy sleeping restlessly on the bed, tossing and turning as he struggled to stay asleep. She felt her heart swell with an emotion she didn't think she had ever felt before. It wasn't something she could describe, either. It was so warm and intense that she almost wondered if the bond was back, though she knew it wasn't. Kagome shook her head and patted Izayoi's hand.

"No, I want to at least try."

They waited for Toga to return before allowing Kagome to approach Inuyasha's sleeping form. Though she knew that she should be more frightened and concerned, she couldn't bring herself to worry all that much. This was Inuyasha, the boy who held her heart since that night in the woods when they had stumbled upon one another by chance. He needed her right now and if there was something that she was able to do, then she knew that she had to do it. With a courage only a fool could have, she knelt beside his bed and carefully placed a hand on his cheek.

* * *

Author's Note:

Oh man guys, I'm so sorry for the hiatus! I've been so busy with school and life. I'm back at home for a while, so I should be able to work on the story a bit more. We are coming close to the end here within the next four chapters or so! I hope you guys are liking what I've been doing, I know that I've been really loving this story. Thanks for everyone who has stuck with me, I'm super grateful for you guys! Leave a review and tell me what you're liking~~~ See ya later!


	17. Chapter 17

_Darkness. Rage._

 _Caged._

 _Still._

 _A warmth, pulling him._

 _Then, out of the darkness, a light._

* * *

Brightness burned his eyes as he opened his lids, blinking away the sleep. There was something so inviting about the light; that light which had saved him from whatever darkness he had been swimming in before.

The darkness wouldn't completely leave; no, he could feel it even then, raging against his will. Still, he fought it down and looked up at the figure above his head. He didn't even need to see to know it was the girl he had chased in the woods so long ago. Without his permission, a smile broke out on his face. A soft, grateful smile one would give to an old friend.

"Kagome," he whispered, though his voice was hoarse and gruff from disuse. His throat burned a little as he breathed, though he figured it was just sore from whatever he had been doing while he was sleeping. She looked down at him, a soft smile on her own face. It was a peculiar sight to see—that smile that was so tender, he could feel it to his core. It wasn't peculiar because of the action itself; rather, it was peculiar to see it on her face without a trace of adoration. There was no tightness around her eyes, as though she were struggling to contain herself, it was just a soft, gentle look.

"Hey, Inuyasha, how are you feeling?" she asked, her voice like a blanket to him. He closed his eyes for a moment, leaning into her hand, though he knew that they were not alone. It wasn't typically like him to be so openly affectionate, and he knew that; but he could help his actions. The demon within him was only giving him a certain amount of leeway; and he wasn't willing to risk losing what little control he had left.

"Better," he grunted before sniffing the area and opening his eyes wide. They darted around the room, searching for the source of the smell. When he found that it came from his mother, his eyes landed directly on the arm which she tried to hide from him. He felt his ears flatten against his head, guilt creeping up his neck like a cold shower. He could still taste her blood in his mouth- a thought which nearly made him heave. He felt Kagome's hand move to his chin and tilt it to look at her.

"Hey, it's okay. We know it was an accident," she assured him, shaking her head and rubbing his cheek softly. Her words, though comforting, made him feel almost worse somehow. The knowledge that he had been directly responsible for his mother getting hurt made him want to run away, but he could tell that his strength wasn't entirely with him just yet.

"Sorry…" he muttered, looking down at the blankets for a moment.

"I'm okay," he heard his mother soothe him, her voice gentle.

"Do you remember what happened? Do you know why you are like this?" his father asked, arms folded across his chest, as though he were ready to move to action at a moment's notice.

Inuyasha felt himself squint, focusing intently on the previous night. He could remember that he had been driving and that something had made him really mad, but he couldn't remember much after that. He shook his head in response.

"Hn…" Inuyasha heard a voice hum. His eyes flicked over to see his brother standing beside their father. He frowned and looked away, angry that they had brought the demon into his room in the first place.

"It's okay that you don't know. Do you feel any different?" Kagome asked, moving the hand from his face to rest on his shoulder. He tensed at the motion, worried that he had done something to cause her to pull away. When she placed her other hand on his, holding it firmly, he felt his muscles calm.

"A little. I feel… on edge," he admitted, already able to feel his demonic blood healing the roughness of this throat. He left out the part where he felt like killing someone and stealing Kagome away from everyone, figuring that it would probably be too much information. The thought made his face heat up, though he felt like his face was already hot enough.

"Son, your demonic blood is not reacting well to having the entire soul bond thrust upon it," Toga explained, most likely knowing that Inuyasha was wanting some answers. The half-demon's eyes seemed to narrow slightly at that.

"No duh," he rolled his eyes, earning a giggle from Kagome. He felt his heart race at the sound, and looked to her intently. "Are you okay? How are you feeling without the bond?" he asked, managing to get out a lot more than he thought he would be able to. He watched as her face turned a little red before looking around at the others in the room. Inuyasha immediately wished that they would all leave and give the two of them some privacy, but he figured that it wouldn't make a lot of sense to ask for space after he had bitten his own mother. He gave Kagome a weary look for a moment, wondering if it were possible for him to accidentally bite her too.

"I'm alright. It feels weird, but I'll manage until we get it fixed," she nodded, giving his hand a squeeze. His eyes widened a little, his demon purring in response to her attitude. The fact that she still wanted to be with him even after the bond was gone was just… it was almost too much to handle.

 _ **Yes. She is ours. Our mate.**_

 _ **She wants us.**_

He closed his eyes tightly and swallowed it away, trying to keep a tight hold on the bit of control that he had.

"Are… How do you feel with… all of it?" she asked, her voice pulling him from his thoughts. He looked at her immediately and shook his head.

"Not great," he chuckled. "It's kinda hard to think straight," he admitted, looking over at his dad. "Is that how you feel, dad?"

Toga chuckled and seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding. "I pretty much can't think about anything else."

His father's admission did something to calm his nerves; almost as if he felt a little more normal. He heard a cough come from his brother and his expression soured when his eyes landed on the taller figure.

"Can we proceed? I must be home soon," Sesshomaru stated, his voice emotionless, save for the ever so subtle hint of worry in his tone. Sesshomaru was agitated.

"We were hoping that you would come with us to convince Kikyo to reverse the bond," Kagome explained, her voice a little uncertain as her gaze darted to his father and back.

"Though we weren't certain that that is the plan we were going with," Toga reminded her, his tone like a warning. Inuyasha looked at Kagome seriously.

"Are you sure that that's a good idea, Kagome? She and I aren't exactly on good terms right now," he reminded her. "I doubt she would listen to anything that I have to say," he informed her, shaking his head a little. He watched as her expression fell slightly.

"What else can we do?" she asked softly, her shoulders slumping.

"Kill her," Sesshomaru's voice cut in coldly. He was obviously growing tired of just standing around and talking. His restlessness was something Inuyasha hadn't ever experienced before. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his half-brother, annoyed that they were even having this conversation.

"Killin' her is not an option," he stated, though there was no force to back it up. His demon seemed to think that maybe Sesshomaru's idea wasn't so bad. When he looked at Kagome's face, however… he knew that he wouldn't be able to go through with something like that with good conscience.

"What if we restrain her?" Izayoi suggested, finally speaking up. Inuyasha gazed at his mother softly, his ears turning to her in interest.

"Tie her up and force her to fix it?" Inuyasha supplied. His mother shrugged a little.

"Something of the sort. Even still, someone would have to get her first," she thought aloud, shaking her head.

"Is there a way that we would be able to lure her to us?" Kagome asked, her brows furrowed in thought. Inuyasha glanced her way and narrowed his eyes as he considered her words.

It was possible to convince her to maybe meet up with him to talk things over, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to part from Kagome long enough to make that happen. His golden eyes scanned Kagome's face, trying to search for something that would change his mind. He couldn't bear to be away from her for even a moment. His ears flattened against his head, feeling weak for thinking of such a mushy idea.

"She's probably too smart to fall for anything like that. We would need to figure out where she is and just surprise her there," Inuyasha answered, looking away.

Kagome seemed to see his trepidation and rubbed his arm softly. "Hey," she called to him, sending a rough shiver through him. He swallowed away the warmth in his belly, his eyes meeting hers. "Are you sure? I think we could solve this with less violence."

He sighed and looked down at where her hand rested on his arm, noticing the difference in hue.

"Well… I could try to call her and ask if we can talk things over, but I feel like it would be really suspicious," he answered honestly, shaking his head.

"Then… do we know of anyone who would be able to help us find where she is?" Kagome asked, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Kaede might know," Toga spoke up, stepping forwards slightly. "She _is_ Kikyo's great-aunt," he reminded them. Inuyasha nearly kicked himself for forgetting about that. Kagome's eyes went wide, and she looked at him in surprise.

"How did you not mention that before?" Kagome asked, almost annoyed. His ears flattened against his head at her tone, feeling a strange desperation to fix whatever he had done.

"Sorry… It just slipped my mind," he admitted, looking down once again.

"We could call Kaede over to ask her about everything. Maybe we could even get a suppressant for Inuyasha while she's over here," Izayoi supplied, looking at her son with a bit of hesitation. Inuyasha frowned deeply at that, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the idea.

"What?" Kagome asked, concerned for him.

"It's nothin'," he answered quietly, looking away. "Well… let's get her over here then."

* * *

Kagome was quickly understanding why it was so important that they get the bond fixed. With each hour that passed, Inuyasha was quickly becoming more and more unbearable. While they waited for Kaede to come over, Kagome asked if Inuyasha was hungry. Of course, he was extremely hungry. Unfortunately, instead of resting and allowing her to just go bring him up a sandwich or something, he insisted that they go down together, hovering over her shoulder the entire time. She could tell that he wanted to hold her hand, but might have been too shy to say so. It was that, or he was trying to do everything he could to not seem too obsessive. Regardless, as time passed, she found that his once endearing hovering had quickly become smothering. Anywhere she went, he followed. Her every movement was carefully watched as he tried to do everything for her. When he tried to feed her, she had to put her foot down.

"Inuyasha! Please, stop. I can hold my own fork and I can eat all by myself," she scolded him, shaking her head at him. She watched as his face went red and his ears flattened harshly against his head at the volume of her words. He looked away quickly and seemed to struggle for a moment. Her heart softened at his expression, knowing that he most likely wasn't fully in control of himself.

"Sorry…" he muttered quietly, forcing himself to pull away from her and sit more in his own seat. Before she could apologize to him, the door opened quickly.

"Inuyasha! Hey, man! How're you holding up?" a happy voice called, gruff and familiar. Kagome smiled at the sound of it, and moved to greet Koga when she noticed her other two friends following quickly behind him.

"Sango, Miroku!" Kagome greeted, giving them each a smile and a hug. "I'm so glad you guys could make it."

"When we heard about what happened, we hurried over as quickly as we could," Sango supplied, frowning a little. "How is he doing?" she asked, glancing over Kagome's shoulder to take a peek at the half-demon. Kagome blushed a little, but decided that they would see it for themselves soon enough.

"He's had a bit of a rough morning," she supplied, glancing over at him to find that he held his arms tightly across his chest, looking away from them and holding his ears flat down on his head. It was almost as though he was fighting with all his demonic strength to stay seated in that spot.

"Whatever…" he muttered, apparently deciding that he wasn't going to be very social.

"So… you saw Kikyo?" Miroku asked, changing the subject slightly, most likely for his friend's benefit. Kagome nodded.

"She has to be the one doing all of this," she explained, retelling Sango and Miroku the story of what happened in the woods and what she and Inuyasha had seen.

"So… is it a bad thing?" Sango asked, looking at Kagome a little curiously. "I mean, a lot of people complain about how the bond gets in the way of making real ties with people."

Kagome swallowed and glanced over Inuyasha's way, noticing that he had one ear trained in their direction so he could pay attention to the conversation without actually having to be part of it.

"Well…"

"The bond is also a really good thing for a lot of demons. It can help really violent demons become more passive and can help strengthen demons who are very weak. It's an equalizer, in a way," Koga supplied, speaking up for Kagome. "We really gotta get it fixed, or a lot of demon families are going to have a lot of issues," he explained. "Without the bond to calm them down, some demons are going to start lashing out…" he added, a little quieter this time, as though in thought.

"So, what's the plan?" Miroku asked, looking at them expectantly.

"We are going to find out where Kikyo is and try to convince her to reverse whatever she did," Kagome supplied, glancing Inuyasha's way for a moment. She could tell that he still wasn't entirely on board with her plan, but they still hadn't come up with anything better.

"Sounds like a plan. If that doesn't work, let's just beat her up," Koga suggested, cracking his knuckles threateningly as he smirked.

"Hopefully, it won't even come close to that," a voice commented. The group seemed to jump a little at the sound of someone else's voice before turning to find Kaede standing in the doorway.

"Kaede, we're so glad you could make it," another voice greeted. Inuyasha's parents descended from the staircase quickly, moving to greet the older woman with a smile.

"Of course. Inuyasha, are you ready?" she asked, looking directly at the boy. He seemed to shrink under her gaze.

"Ready for what?" Koga asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Inuyasha has to talk with Kaede for a moment. It shouldn't take too long," Izayoi supplied, trying to dispel any further questions that might embarrass her son.

"Yes, well, let's get on with it. Inuyasha, come, we'll begin," she instructed, waving her hand for Inuyasha to follow. The half-demon blushed and glanced at the group before looking squarely at Kagome, somehow begging her to come with him without actually asking. She looked to the group before calling to Kaede.

"Would it be alright if I come too?" she asked, giving her friends a look that said that she would explain everything later. Kaede merely waved for her to follow, and she hurried after them, walking closely behind Inuyasha as they made their way to a side room on the ground floor. It wasn't particularly large, but Kagome figured that it probably didn't have to be.

When they entered the room, Kaede instructed Inuyasha to sit in a wooden chair that had been stowed off to the side. He moved it to the center of the room and sat down, his movements shaky and jittery. Kagome wondered if it was because he was nervous, or if it was because he hadn't been as close to her as he had been all that morning.

"So… what are you going to do to him?" Kagome asked softly, a little concerned for Inuyasha's safety.

Kaede was pulling things out of her purse, random objects that she seemed to lace together on a string. "I am going to put a subduing spell on him. His soul is going to be devoured if we do not suppress his demonic side," she answered, shaking her head. "His body simply cannot handle the power of the entire bond. By suppressing his demonic aura, we should be able to reduce the effects of the bond as well," she explained, continuing to place random beads and what appeared to be teeth on the string.

"Is it going to hurt?" she asked, looking at Inuyasha who was staring at her intently. He seemed to be longing for something, yet also asking for something.

"Initially, it will feel uncomfortable. He will get used to the feeling," she answered. "Unfortunately, it can't last forever. That is why it is so imperative that we fix whatever is going on with the bond as soon as we possibly can," she answered, glancing at Inuyasha for a moment before tying a knot in the string to form a necklace. Kagome considered the weird-looking object for a moment before looking at Kaede.

"I am going to say a prayer on Inuyasha and then place these sacred beads upon him," she explained, mostly for Kagome's sake. Inuyasha sighed and looked away from the two of them.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can we hurry up?" he asked, his voice full of nerves and lacking the typical gruffness that he usually had. Kaede grunted and moved to close her eyes, holding her hand in front of her and muttering a quiet prayer.

Inuyasha grunted, a small groan coming from his lips as he struggled to stay still. It was as though some force was squeezing him. The lights in the dimly-lit room seemed to flicker for a moment before everything went quiet. Inuyasha's breathing was labored, and he panted lightly as he watched Kaede move to place the beads over his head before pausing.

She turned to look at Kagome for a moment.

"Inuyasha, would you rather that Kagome placed these upon you?" Kaede asked, surprising Kagome with her words.

"What? Why me?" she asked, a bit bewildered. This seemed like such a delicate ceremony that she was nervous to even be in the same room as them while it was going on. Inuyasha looked up at her, sweating and doing his best to not seem too exhausted.

"Will you?" he asked, his voice soft and strained.

"Whoever puts the beads on him will hold the power of subjugation over him. When his demonic aura begins to overpower him, you need only call out to his inner soul with a word of power," she explained, carefully handing the beads over to Kagome. The younger girl blinked at the explanation and looked at Inuyasha warily. Surely, he wouldn't actually want her to subdue him?

"Inuyasha… are you sure about this?"

"I'd rather… it be you than anyone else," he admitted, taking a breath in between his words as he gave her a reassuring smile. Kagome accepted the necklace and moved to stand directly in front of him. She felt his hands move to rest on her hips, watching as he tilted his head downward to allow her to place them around his neck.

She felt a strange power within the smoothness of the beads, one that she worried could possibly harm him. Still, with the idea of Inuyasha possibly losing his soul to that person he seemed to be when he attacked his mother… she lowered the necklace around his neck. The beads seemed to glow for a moment as Inuyasha let out a low groan of pain. When they stopped glowing, Kaede bowed her head and said another prayer before looking at the two of them.

"It is done. Speak the command word that will reach his soul," she instructed.

Kagome thought about it for a moment, trying to think of a word that would reach his soul… It could be just any word, it had to be a word she would be able to remember and call forth at a moment's notice. She looked down at Inuyasha's expecting face and her eyes flicked up to his cute little ears.

"Sit," she whispered. Even the softness of her voice seemed to have a power over him and some force pressed down upon him, nearly making him fall onto the floor.

"SIT?! Of all the words you coulda chose, you chose SIT?!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his voice once again gruff and annoyed. Kagome blushed a little and stepped away from him.

"It seemed to make sense! When a dog is acting out, you tell them to sit!" she defended, folding her arms across her chest.

"I ain't a dog!" he protested, shaking his head and moving to stand. As he did so, he seemed to wobble and little and stumbled, nearly falling over before Kagome rushed to catch him. He looked down at her, a faint redness creeping across his cheeks.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" He pushed her away gently and moved across the room. Kagome wondered if the bond wasn't bothering him as much if he was able to pull away from her touch so freely now.

"If that is all you need from me, I must be on my way," Kaede spoke up, making her way towards the exit. Kagome glanced Inuyasha's way before following after the old woman.

"So, Kaede, we heard that you are Kikyo's great aunt. We were wondering if you knew where she has been going to lately?" Kagome asked, her voice gentle. Kaede paused for a moment before looking at the younger girl.

"You suspect Kikyo to be behind the recent events?" she concluded, raising an eyebrow at Kagome. The girl looked down at the floor, avoiding her gaze as she nodded.

"We saw her and Naraku talking about it the other day…" she admitted.

The old nurse seemed to consider this for a moment before nodded. "She _has_ been acting rather strangely lately. I believe this is something that your parents would care to hear," she decided, continuing her movement towards the front of the house.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Izayoi asked, looking between her son and Kaede expectantly.

"Just fine," Inuyasha answered for her, moving to lean against a wall and away from the group.

"Kaede was wanting to share some information with us," Kagome introduced. The group seemed to shift their gaze solely to Kaede, waiting for her.

"Kikyo approached me about a week ago, asking me about the mating bond. She was searching for a way to lift the 'curse,' as she put it, and rid the world of the 'burden of soul mates'," Kaede began, shaking her head.

"I thought that there wasn't a way to get rid of the bond?" Koga asked, his brows furrowed.

Kaede nodded in agreement. "That is correct, and precisely what I told her. However, she didn't seem to want to take that as her final answer. She began to inquire about ways to shift power from one being to another. I told her that such practices were old and difficult to master for a human, but she insisted that she find a way to learn. I tried to dispel her curiosity by telling her that she would have to get a demon to either do it for her or…" her voice trailed off, somehow giving the impression of shame in her tone.

Kagome thought back to when Kikyo had first come to school that week without Naraku. She could remember distinctly remembering Kikyo seemed to be more powerful and amazing in every sense of the word.

"Or give her the power to do it for herself," Kagome finished, looking at Kaede for confirmation. The older woman nodded and sighed.

"I should not have planted such an idea in her head. She stopped asking about the bond, but something changed about her soon after. I believe that she found a way to harness a demon's power for her own," Kaede elaborated, shaking her head. "If she were anywhere, I believe she would be at the old conservatory. She used to frequent the place in her youth."

The group exchanged glances at this new information.

"So then, we go to the conservatory and get her to fix things?" Inuyasha asked, speaking up.

Kaede nodded. "The spell is most likely being held from her hold on whatever demon she stole this power from. If you were to damage that connection, it would most likely release the hold she has on the bonds," Kaede surmised.

"So, we have to wake up Naraku?" Kagome asked, looking at Inuyasha with a frown.

"She probably has him with her now. She wouldn't be dumb enough to leave him in the same place for too long," Inuyasha speculated, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"The question that I still have is how she is able to hold all that demonic power within her? Most humans would lose their souls to such power," Toga spoke up, thinking out loud.

"If Kikyo were to have already had some kind of connection with him…" Kaede began.

"Like a soul bond," Inuyasha supplied, seeming to be disgusted with the phrase. Kaede nodded.

"If they were bonded, it might be possible for her to hold the power for a short amount of time. However, she would eventually lose her soul to the demons within her," Kaede warned, shaking her head. "This must be fixed immediately."

"How do we hurt their connection?" Miroku asked, speaking up.

"It would be possible to hurt their power connection if Kikyo were to be subdued by a spiritual sutra or prayer," Kaede offered. "Unfortunately, I will not be able to come with you. I am too weak for the journey," she informed them, obviously sorry that she wouldn't be able to assist them.

"You've done more than enough, Kaede," Izayoi reassured her, moving to pat the older woman's back lightly. "We're grateful for the service you've done for this family," she smiled.

"It is always a pleasure to be able to assist your family," she nodded.

"But if you can't do it, who can?" Inuyasha asked, frowning a little. Kaede glanced at Kagome.

"I sensed a spiritual aura within you, child. I believe that you might be able to perform a small spell that could affect their bond," Kaede answered. Kagome looked at the woman with a bit of surprise, noticing how all eyes in the room were squarely on her.

"Me? I've never been able to do anything remotely magical in my life," she warned, shaking her head.

"You were able to seal the spell on Inuyasha," she pointed out, a twinkle in her eye as she spoke. Kagome blushed and looked Inuyasha's way, a little shocked. He seemed to share her surprise, but nodded for her to try.

"Well… I'm willing to give it a shot," she nodded, her voice laced with trepidation, but strong, nevertheless.

"Then I shall teach you this spell. Come with me," Kaede spoke, waving for Kagome to follow her outside. As Kagome followed after her, she glanced over her shoulder, noticing that Inuyasha was still leaning against the wall, his eyes closed as he seemed to stand there in thought.

Inwardly, she wondered if Inuyasha no longer felt inclined to be around her. He seemed so distant since the subjugation that she wondered if it had completely suppressed the bond. Her eyes fell to the floor as she walked out the door. What if the bond is the only reason Inuyasha wanted to be around her in the first place? That hadn't been true for herself, but Inuyasha had had a girlfriend and an entire life before he had met her. Heck, he had even admitted to her that the bond seemed to make him nicer to people.

She sighed and decided that it would probably be best for him to be normal around her. If she truly wanted to be with him, she knew that she needed to see all the parts of him.

Even the parts that didn't like her.

* * *

Once she had finally left, Inuyasha let out a sigh he had been holding in and allowed himself to take a deep breath. He could still smell her in the room and it nearly sent his senses ablaze, but he kept it together. He wanted to go outside and see what Kaede was teaching her, but her words from earlier still stung him.

He knew that he had been acting ridiculous. He knew that nothing he was doing was making any real sense. His own actions disgusted him. His nose wrinkled at the thought of him trying to feed her earlier. At the time, it had seemed like such a logical thing to do but…

Inuyasha looked up and found the group looking at him expectantly. His ears perked up and he blinked a little in surprise.

"Uh… what?" he asked dumbly.

"How come you're not gunna go watch?" Koga asked, looking at Inuyasha with a raised eyebrow. Inuyasha's face went red as he looked away.

"I don't gotta be around her all the time. Why do you care, anyways?" he answered defensively, huffing at the wolf's nosiness.

"Well, it would probably be beneficial to know how to cast the spell, even if you can't do it yourself," Miroku supplied. "What if she forgets? You would be able to help her remember," he pointed out.

"If you're so worried about it, maybe you should go outside with her," Inuyasha spat at him, sneering a little.

Miroku shrugged. "I very easily could. I come from a long line of monks; I would probably be able to cast the spell if Kagome were not able to," he thought aloud. Inuyasha frowned at that.

He didn't like the idea of anyone else going outside with Kagome, but he didn't want to come off as smothering again. The memory of her getting annoyed with him still burned.

"Just leave her alone. She can handle it on her own," Inuyasha warned, shaking his head. "If she wanted one of us to watch her, she would have invited us," he supplied, closing his eyes once again. He listened as the group decided to go outside and watch anyways. His ears flattened against his head, knowing that he had made a jerk of himself. He jumped a little when he felt a hand touch his arm. His eyes opened quickly to land on his father, who looked down at him with a firm nod.

"It's okay, son. You should join us. I'll bet Kagome is waiting for you," he encouraged him, moving his hand to pat his son on the shoulder before moving to leave the house. Inuyasha was only alone for a moment before his eyes landed on the figure of his brother, standing by the window and looking out.

"What are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha asked, narrowing his eyes at his half-brother.

The taller demon didn't even glance his way, he merely grunted in response. "Are you a fool?"

Inuyasha bristled at that. It was just like Sesshomaru to put him in a bad mood with only one sentence.

"How were you even able to leave your mate?" Inuyasha asked, deciding that an argument with Sesshomaru would be just the thing he needed to get his mind off of what was going on outside. The tall demon now set his cold gaze directly onto Inuyasha.

"That is none of your concern. I came here for answers and found that it was because of your foolishness that the bond is being tampered with," he answered, his voice cold and devoid of feeling.

"This whole thing is _hardly_ my fault. If it hadn't been for the stupid mating bond, none of this crap would have happened in the first place," he defended, rolling his eyes and he settled a little better against the wall. Sesshomaru seemed to scoff at that.

"Your words expose your ignorance," the demon accused, turning his head to look out of the window. "Your callousness to your intended will only cause you harm. Go outside."

Inuyasha blinked at Sesshomaru's advice. He was shocked to hear his half-brother giving him anything close to good advice or encouragement. Most of the time, Sesshomaru almost purposefully gave him bad advice in the hopes that Inuyasha would end up getting hurt or suffering. The half-demon felt his heart soften at that thought. Sesshomaru must have really changed after meeting his mate.

"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, deciding to follow his brother's advice and go outside.

Outside, Inuyasha found Kagome already working on the prayer. He could see a soft pink light emitting from her fingertips as she whispered some prayer towards her fingers. When Inuyasha joined the group, Kaede looked at him with a small grin.

"Oh Inyasha, how fortunate that you would choose now to come outside. Come, you can be Kagome's target," Kaede instructed, guiding Inuyasha over to where Kagome was. She broke her concentration and looked at Inuyasha with a bit of concern.

"What? I can't hurt him," she protested, shaking her head. Kaede held a hand up to her.

"Inuyasha is only half-demon. Your spell will hardly affect him. Besides that, his demonic energy is already suppressed, so he should only feel a minor pinch," Kaede explained, lining Inuyasha up to be her target.

Inuyasha watched Kagome's worried eyes meet his own. His hard expression softened immediately at seeing the depths of her gaze. There was nothing quite like the feeling he got from seeing her.

"I ain't a baby. Bring it on," he assured her, giving her a nod of his head. Kagome looked between Kaede and Inuyasha once again and nodded a moment before whispering into her fingers once again. Inuyasha watched as they once again glowed with a bright pink light before she pointed them in his direction. A small, pink beam went straight into his heart and he grunted a moment, feeling his heart clench tightly in his chest. For a small moment, he felt the bond between he and Kagome flicker back to life, almost as though she were jumpstarting the link. It was gone as soon as it had come, and Kagome looked between the two people expectantly.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" she asked, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his chest where she had shot him. He shook his head and gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

"I'm alright. You can't hurt me, Kagome," he assured her, trying to be gruff, but just unable to reach that point with her.

"Excellent job, Kagome. That should be enough to affect Kikyo's bond with Naraku and restart his powers," Kaede nodded, speaking up during their tender moment. Kagome and Inuyasha coughed and pulled away, both a little red in the face.

"So, should we expect Kikyo to have bodyguards or anything, or is she doing all of this by herself?" Sango asked, thinking out loud.

"She's amassed quite the following at school. I wouldn't be surprised if she had managed to gain a few demons on her side who were trying to be rid of the bond as well," Miroku pointed out, looking at Kagome and Inuyasha for a moment.

"I know a few of my pals were talking to me about wanting to find a way to get rid of it," Koga agreed, nodding his head.

"They are too young to appreciate the bond's true ability," Toga offered, shaking his head.

"Well, let's go fix it. We'll fix the bond and knock some sense into Kikyo," Koga grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get going."

Inuyasha nodded at his parents and looked to Kagome once again. He needed to get a moment to talk with her alone before they actually headed out.

"So where is the conservatory?" Kagome asked, looking around at the group.

"It's on the far edge of town," Inuyasha answered with a sigh. It was going to be a long drive.

* * *

The car they sat in was weirdly silent as they drove on down the road. Neither person was willing to break the silence first, but neither person wanted to remain in that silence.

Kagome couldn't help but feel a weird rift between them. There was something about the way that he kept trying to hold his breath… they way he seemed to inch away from her anytime he tried to get comfortable. It hurt her to see him acting so… distant. Regardless, she knew that she still had to apologize for what she had said earlier that morning.

"Hey… um…" she began, her voice sounding rather lame against the strength of the silence. "I'm sorry for snapping at you this morning."

She watched as his ear swiveled in her direction, knowing that his attention was entirely on her.

"I just wasn't used to you acting so… affectionate… but that wasn't any excuse to yell at you the way that I did. I knew that you weren't really able to control yourself, and it really wasn't all that bad. I just wanted to eat my sandwich by myself," she apologized, explaining her actions and looking at him seriously. She watched as the tenseness seemed to leave Inuyasha's body. He visibly relaxed and glanced her way for a moment.

"That's… It's actually been bothering me since you said it. I'm sorry for acting so clingy. It's just that this stupid bond was making me act all crazy and my demon blood was heightened due to the full moon and the bond," he explained to her, sighing a little. "I knew that what I was doing was stupid, but I couldn't stop myself."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "It's okay. We're going to get it fixed," she smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder softly. He shivered at the contact and sent a small smile her way.

"Hell yeah, we are."

* * *

Author's Note:  
I'm back! After a short hiatus, I have returned! I was actually planning on making this the last chapter, but after 25 pages, I realized that that just wasn't going to happen. I know that some of it is kinda slow, but I am getting back into the swing of writing again! I apologize for leaving for so long, but sometimes burnout is super real. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week and I will see you again later~~ Bye!


	18. Chapter 18

Kagome and Inuyasha's car rolled across the loose gravel of the driveway leading up to the conservatory. Craning her neck to get a better look at the building, Kagome's eyes widened at what she saw. With the darkness of the sky in the landscape, the dead of the trees sticking out like sharp bony fingers, and the light bit of rain that fell against the rocks below like the clapping of distant thunder- the ambiance for the mood was set. It truly looked like something out of a Mary Shelley novel. The conservatory was tall and round, with dusty windows that nearly seemed to have no end or beginning. The sides of the building heaved out, as though the pressure from the glass ceiling was too much to bear. Perhaps the building had once been well-kept, but the building was currently in a grand state of decay. The once white paint was peeling off the sides, now stained a light brown color from rust underneath. Moss and vines crept up on every side, inching their way towards any opening they could find, wishing to one day entrap the building within it's leafy embrace.

A stroke of lightning filled the air, causing the flesh on her arms to prickle and the hairs to rise slightly. Kagome nearly jumped when she felt a warm hand grab her wrist. Her head snapped to the other person in the car, taking note of the way the corners of his mouth hitched down in a frown. His posture was rigged and stiff, his hands clasped upon the wheel in a white-knuckle grip. She thought she could see the hint of something purple on his skin, but she was certain that it was just the light tricking her. His presence on her wrist made her relax a little, permitting her to let out a breath that she didn't know she held. The grip on her wrist loosened as his hand slipped to fit within her own.

"We're here," he stated, his voice steely as it masked his true trepidation. Inuyasha parked the car on the side of the building, hoping that it wouldn't be too noticeable. Koga's car followed suit, parking beside Inuyasha's and turning off the lights. The sound of the engines dying did nothing to ease Kagome's anxiety.

Inuyasha let go of her hand and carefully closed the car door, not wanting to cause too much of a ruckus, Kagome figured. She slid out of her seat as well to join the others outside. The cold rain fell on her pale cheeks like teardrops.

Now in a circle, the group gave instructions.

"This can be really quick if we don't screw up," Inuyasha began, looking at the group seriously. "Koga and Sango, you'll be in charge of getting through the meatheads that she's definitely placed on the first floor," Inuyasha decided. No one put forth any argument—most likely due to no one wanting to cause any problems. "Miroku, Kagome, and I will make our way up the stairs. She's probably got some meatheads up there with her. I'll take care of them. Miroku, you help Kagome get to Kikyo. Give her enough time to get the spell going. Then, we take Kikyo and get the hell out of there," Inuyasha instructed. "Any questions?"

Kagome listened as intently as she could, but everything just seemed to be going so fast. There were going to be so many angry demons—how were they supposed to actually get through all of them? What if Kikyo had woken Naraku up already and he was totally on board with her plan? She had already seen Inuyasha lose that fight… would he be able to handle another? She glanced up at Inuyasha to find him giving her a knowing smirk.

"Perfect. Let's get going then," Inuyasha nodded, ushering the others towards the back. Kagome held back for a moment, looking down at the ground. "Kagome?" she heard his voice call to her. She looked up, her face fully of worry.

"What if this plan doesn't work? What if people end up getting hurt?" she posed. "You said yourself that demons don't really have a problem killing people if they think it's just."

Inuyasha seemed to think about it for only a few second because his cocky grin crept back on his face.

"Kagome, you gotta remember—I'm not gunna let anyone beat us. We're gunna go in there and whoop 'em and come back out like it was nothing," he assured her, moving forward to place a hand on her shoulder. Kagome glanced from his clawed hand back up to his face, taking notice of the way his expression had softened. "We'll be fine. Trust me."

And how could she not? With a nod of her head, she allowed Inuyasha to lead her inside.

* * *

Just as Inuyasha had thought, there were a dozen or so demons prowling out on the ground floor. Inuyasha gave a nod towards Sango and Koga, watching as they snuck quietly to get into position. Koga spared a wink in Kagome's direction before nodding his head for the three of them left to move. Inuyasha placed a hand on Kagome's lower back, trying to focus on the mission and not on how amazing that rush up his spine felt every time he touched her. Sango and Koga took out the first few silently, but the rest of the demons were huddled in a group, laughing and joking around loudly. Inuyasha hurried Kagome and Miroku towards the stairs while Sango lured the boys away from the staircase.

Inuyasha didn't bother to look back as he led the two others up the stairs. He had full confidence in Sango and Koga's ability—though he did wish that he could watch the demons get pummeled. Regardless of this, the half demon kept his gaze ahead, making sure that he was in the lead should there be any other demons guarding the winding stone staircase. Inuyasha could acutely hear one demon at the stop of the stairs. He narrowed his eyes, knowing that it would be more difficult to attack if the demon were at the opening. An ear flicked back as he began to hear the sounds of a beating not too far below them. Inuyasha smirked wildly, knowing that this would lure the demon at the top of the stairs down ever so slightly. He would have to be quick, but he felt that he would be able to take the demon down relatively easily.

Just as he suspected, the shadow of a figure began to appear just in front of them. He heard Kagome's breath hitch, and the scent of her fear nearly made his eyes water. She wouldn't have to worry about that for too long.

Once the demon was exactly in sight, Inuyasha grabbed him by the neck and pulled as hard as he could. As the demon was being thrown down the stairs, Miroku pulled Kagome to lay flat against the wall, not allowing her to get pulled down with the demon. The small group spared no moment to watch the demon's fate as he tumbled down the stone steps, they continued to trudge forward.

Upstairs, Inuyasha signaled for those behind him to flatten out against the wall, lest the people within lay an eye on them. He peeked from around the doorframe, scanning the room with searching eyes. When they locked on to his target, Inuyasha smirked a little and looked back at his mate and best friend. There was a quick thought that flashed through his mind in that moment, one that heated his veins and gave him the courage he needed to make this whole thing happen.

 _I have people I want to protect._

* * *

Kagome frowned a little as she noticed the look on Inuyasha's face darken. With a wink, she watched as he quietly slunk through the room. Miroku didn't give her the chance to see what happened because she felt his hand touch her back and lead her firmly to a shadowy place. There were several pillars in the room, each one helping to hold up the top railing above them. As they reached the shadows, Miroku tapped her shoulder, directing her gaze to directly above them.

There she was.

Kikyo.

Boy did she look like a goddess.

Power seemed to radiate off her in waves. Her hair blew as if there were a breeze in the room, but it was closed off from the world—dusty and dank from disuse. A dark light seemed to encase her all around—power flickered from the tips of her fingers like deadly sparks. Kagome remembered Kaede's warning about Kikyo's soul being devoured. She only hoped that Kikyo was still in there.

Kikyo had quite a few demons around her—all of them were seemingly focused on something she was holding. Kagome had to squint within the poorly lit room, as her own eyesight was just not good enough to make out whatever it was.

"So, you're saying that all you have to do is cast that spell and it'll be permanent?" a deep voice asked, his tenor vibrating through the room.

"Precisely," a dark voice answered. It was unmistakably Kikyo's, yet Kagome could hear the dissonant chords of the demons within her staining her once elegant lilt. "But I haven't the power to finish it… _yet_ ," she continued, the last word slicing through the air like a blade. "Now, with you…" The sound of gurgling and loud thuds followed not shortly after.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha's voice rang through the room, calling everyone's attention directly to him. He stepped out into the light, his face set and determined with righteous anger.

The inhuman woman seemed to float down to him, looking upon him with an air of arrogance and distaste.

"What's this? You came? Surely you know what I plan to do?" Kikyo posed, something bright and round within her hands. It seemed bigger now than it did before, but Kagome had to remind herself that she really hadn't been able to see it very well either. She felt Miroku pat her back again and pointed to a large casket in the far corner of the room. The large spider-like symbol on it led her to assume it was where Kikyo was keeping Naraku.

Kagome moved quietly through the shadows as Kikyo and Inuyasha continued.

"Yeah, I do, and it's a stupid plan. Getting rid of the mating bond? That's ridiculous, and you know it, Kikyo!" Inuyasha scolded, pointing a clawed finger at her. A low chuckle rang through the room.

"That was what I thought, and yet, it has happened. I can tell from your feverish face that you, too, are suffering," she seemed to laugh at this for a moment. " _Good!_ " she hissed, her voice metallic and polyphonic.

"You ain't even Kikyo anymore. You're just a mutt!" he shot back at her. Kagome could tell that he took a lot of pleasure from being able to use one of his own insults against someone else.

"So it seems. It matters little, for I have surpassed my previous limitations. I will not be bogged down by that _filthy_ link any longer!"

"The link does a lot more good than you know, Kikyo! A lot of families need it!" he shot back. Kikyo seemed to scoff at this.

"If a family needs an artificial link to remain intact, then it should never have been established to begin with," she countered flippantly. "Artificial feelings, artificial attraction, artificial _everything_. That link is an abomination," she answered coldly. "You and I were perfectly happy before that link ruined everything," she pointed out. "We were going to get married after high school. We had plans for our future before that _abhorrent link_ got in the way!" she accused, her voice becoming louder.

When Kagome finally reached the casket, she placed a hand on it tentatively. She would have to open it in order to wake Naraku up; and that thought worried her. What if Kikyo had planned on them coming and had rigged it in some way? She looked to Miroku for answers, but found that he was focused on a demon across from them. Miroku left her then, moving through the shadows towards the demon. Kagome knew that he was in charge of making sure that she was in the clear, but seeing him leave made her feel a little more scared than she would have liked to admit.

There wasn't much time left. She needed to make her decision.

"There was never gunna be a future for us! You knew that! We were miserable together!" Inuyasha countered, a low growl in his voice. "Don't try to trick yourself into thinking that you actually liked me, Kikyo!"

"I _loved_ you!" she shouted, the air around her becoming charged. "I didn't want you to be someone else's!"

"Yeah? Well, you sure didn't have any problems moving on!" he shot back at her.

"I _hate him_ ," she ground out, the room shaking a little at the force of her words.

Kagome ran her fingers along the side of the casket, feeling for any locks. All she felt was an indentation for a handle. It was now or never.

"Coulda' fooled me!" Inuyasha provoked.

"That _stupid_ bond is what made this happen. I didn't want him. How could I ever love someone so _disgusting?_ And yet," her voice seemed to shake a little. "I did. That bond made me believe I had feelings for that monstrosity. Fortunately," her voice seemed to calm a bit, she took a deep breath inward and chuckled. "I have found the solution, one that will make these problems disappear," she explained, her voice lilting at the end.

"What? That glowing ball of light?"

Kagome lifted the lid.

"It's a spell. One that I can't have your little mate ruining," Kikyo explained before Kagome felt a piercing pain and strange heat fill her gut.

"No! KAGOME!" she heard Inuyasha shout to her.

When she looked down, she saw some kind of black, pointy, spear-like thing sticking out from her middle. She felt a weird metallic taste in her mouth, the liquid filling it up like mucus and forcing her to cough. Dark liquid splattered her arm as she tried to cover her mouth, staining her shirt. She felt the spear-thing pull her back like a doll.

"You shouldn't be messing with things that have nothing to do with you," Kikyo soothed as she held the spear-like tentacle before her. Kikyo shook her head. "Why do you fight with me? I have only done you a favor. No longer do you have to be a slave to a will that isn't yours," she pointed out, her voice full of some other emotion that Kagome didn't have the strength to decipher.

"You put her down, NOW!" Inuyasha barked, the sound of his sword being pulled from its hilt slicing through the air.

"What's this? You wish for me to release her? You should know that a wound like this would kill her the moment I pulled it away," Kikyo responded, toying with him.

"Please… stop…" Kagome croaked, her voice coming out strangled and forced. Kikyo's dark eyes landed on her for a moment, seeming to consider her.

"Stop? I've only done you a kindness. Without me, you would have remained a slave to a bond you never asked for," she pointed out.

"You don't have to… to do this, Kikyo," Kagome continued, coughing once again, but not having the strength to lift her arm up to catch the blood.

"No, but you see, Kagome, _I do,"_ she answered, her voice growing dark. "I never wanted this. I only wanted to finish high school and become a lawyer; but that all changed when I was forced to meet _him_ ," she explained, narrowing her eyes at Kagome.

She could see it now, even with the little bit of strength she had, Kagome could see Kikyo falling apart. Her face seemed to be cracking, as though she were made of porcelain. Her eyes were red and blood-shot; dark circles under her eyes gave them a more sunken-in appearance. Kagome realized then that this truly was like hell to her. To Kikyo, this bond was the worst thing that could have happened. She frowned and closed her eyes, feeling her eyelids growing too heavy.

"It gets better…" Kagome muttered before letting out a shallow breath.

* * *

Inuyasha watched as Kagome seemed to go limp on that spiny spear. He had been trying to keep his cool- to not let his emotions get the better of him. Unfortunately, when he watched Kagome go limp and heard her heartbeat stop, something within him snapped.

" _ **KAGOME!**_ " he roared, his voice like thunder, shaking the very inner confines of the glass room.

He felt nothing but rage.

All he could see was darkness.

* * *

Miroku had been watching from the shadows ever since Kagome had gotten stabbed. He could only watch on in terror as Kikyo had dragged her like a doll with a tentacle that protruded from her back like a spine or spider leg. It was then that Miroku watched Inuyasha completely lose it.

It didn't matter how many tentacles Kikyo threw at him, he kept moving forward, claws extended, and sword disregarded and cast away.

"DIE, INUYASHA!" Kikyo shouted, continuing to stab him. It had no effect on the half-demon, and he only seemed to smirk at her attempts.

Once he reached her, he grabbed her arms tightly with his own, claws pricking the delicate flesh and drawing blood. Miroku watched as Inuyasha continued to squeeze, applying more and more pressure. There was an unholy cracking noise that resounded through the room, and it nearly made Miroku loose whatever food he had left in his stomach.

He almost turned away when there was a bright pink light that enveloped the room and Kikyo was sent flying across to one of the walls. She hit the glass window, cracking it and causing a shower of glass to rain upon her. The once bright ball of light within her hands was now completely missing.

Miroku watched as Kagome fell to the ground, now completely disregarded. Inuyasha seemed to look at her and go into a frenzy. He made off in a sprint, barreling towards Kikyo with a deadly glint within his eyes. Just as he was about to leap on her, he fell flat on his face with a force unlike any Miroku had ever seen.

Inuyasha growled, howling at Kikyo even as he laid on the ground. The woman was completely unconscious—unresponsive to any and every sound around her. This, of course, didn't mean that everyone else was unresponsive to the sound of a high-pitched squeaking coming from the corner of the room. Heavy breathing interrupted Inuyasha's howling as they all turned to see Naraku stumbling forth from his casket. Inuyasha pulled himself off the ground, moving to launch himself at Naraku.

"…sit…" whispered a quiet voice. Inuyasha fell to the floor with a loud smack.

"What the hell?!" Inuyasha grumbled, rubbing his head with a frustrated groan.

The dark man seemed to struggle on his feet, taking each step as though it were a monumental task. So thin and wan was his form that Miroku pondered if Naraku would blow away with the lightest breeze. All was silent as he moved closer toward Kikyo. Miroku didn't know what to think of the haze in his eyes; how dark and red they were from his prolonged slumber. His face seemed to be determined, set, on Kikyo's prone form.

Inuyasha continued to struggle, trying to get up, but some unseen force kept him lowered to the ground. Even the half-demon seemed worried as to what Naraku was going to do.

They could be nothing more than mere spectators as Naraku stopped by Kikyo. He seemed to clench his fists for a moment before sighing and falling to his knees beside her. She groaned and coughed, unable to move and obviously in pain from the many cuts and lacerations she now possessed over any part of her that had been exposed to the glass shower. Miroku watched as the dark man placed a hand on his heart and another on Kikyo's. Black smoke erupted from her form like a burning fire, billowing out in heaves before she finally coughed, her throat now seemingly clear. The room was filled with a haze for a moment before the smoke dissipated and retreated into the now setting sky. Apparently now finished, he placed his hand to her forehead and seemed to breathe for a moment before huffing and shaking his head. Without a word, he turned towards the group and approached Kagome's form. His footsteps were now filled with more rigor, less unsure than before. He knelt beside Kagome, narrowing his eyes at her.

Inuyasha thrashed in his spot, trying to force himself up. Miroku could tell that Inuyasha didn't want Naraku anywhere near her.

"Get away from her, you slimy creep! Don't you dare touch her or I'll kill you!" Inuyasha growled, sounding a little gruffer and less restrained than usual. Miroku thought he might have heard Naraku scoff at that, but the dark man made no efforts to move. Rather, he reached out and placed his hand over the gaping hole where Kagome had been stabbed. There was a strange light before Kagome seemed to take a deep, desperate breath.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called out, his voice cracking and breaking as he listened to Kagome struggle to live. "Get your filthy hands offa' her!"

"Silence, Inuyasha. I am not going to harm her."

* * *

Kagome couldn't remember a moment where she had felt closer to death than this.

She could feel herself bleeding out by the second, yet, when Naraku had approached, she felt herself becoming whole once more. When she was mended, she was able to breathe again. Inuyasha's voice hurt her head, but she managed to look up at the face of her savior.

Naraku's face.

She would have scampered away quickly if she had had the energy to do so. Currently, she could only groan and close her eyes once again.

Why had he healed her?

"… I am not going to hurt her," she heard him say. She looked up at him with a tired, confused expression. Why would he not hurt her? His red eyes shot down to meet hers, narrowing slightly.

"I need you," he stated simply.

"You cain't have her! Kagome, don't listen to a word he says!" Inuyasha called, trying feverishly to get her to listen.

"…For what?" she asked, her voice like a croak from the layers of blood caked on her vocal tract. She tried to swallow it away.

"Kikyo's soul has been tainted by evil demons. I cannot repair the bond until she has been cleansed," he explained calmly, looking at her with a somewhat bored expression. Gone was his strangely maleficent demeanor. He seemed far more docile than before… and tired.

"Why would you want to repair the bond anyways?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically. "She tried to kill you!"

Naraku sighed and shook his head.

"All you should care about is that I want it to be fixed," he answered Inuyasha, a little annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Right, so you think we'll just help you because you want it?" Inuyasha sneered. Naraku seemed to roll his eyes at that, his shoulders slumping a little in what Kagome could only assume was _exhaustion_.

"This wasn't part of the plan. She wanted to change the link for _you_ , not everyone else. Or at least… that's what she told me," Naraku admitted, shaking his head. "It was foolish of me to assume she would be honest in her revenge. I lent her my power and now she must be purified. Only then will her power over the bond be broken and yours will be repaired," he explained. "I healed your mate for a reason, hanyou," he pointed out, looking away from Inuyasha to meet Kagome's scrutinizing gaze.

She had never trusted this demon once.

He was Inuyasha's oldest bully. He was the man who beat Inuyasha to a pulp and lived to tell about it. He was the reason they were in this mess. He was probably responsible for her aunt being ill…

Kagome looked at him with newfound ferocity. Sitting up, she refused to let out the sore groans that threatened to escape her lips as she picked herself off of the ground and rose to her feet. Naraku followed suit, rising to his full height and looking down at her.

"You will heal my aunt," she stated, her voice worn, yet certain. Naraku raised an eyebrow at her.

"Who?"

"Tsukimi Moto, my aunt. You placed spider demons within her and then placed a hex on her. You'll fix her and return her soul," Kagome stated firmly.

Naraku seemed to think about it for a moment before looking at her with a nod.

"The hex was placed by Kikyo. It will be broken when you cleanse her soul," he answered, nodding. "As for those spider demons… I shall make sure they do not feast on her again," he answered calmly, gesturing towards his mate. "Now, shall we?"

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha, who seemed to be giving her a hard look. He must not have thought Naraku was being deceptive, because he merely sat up and watched the two of them. His hand was clutched to his abdomen, most likely sore and healing from all the stab wounds he had received from Kikyo.

"Fine," she nodded, following as he led her to the still form of Kikyo. The woman was either unconscious, or in a lot of pain, because she made no attempts to move or escape as Kagome knelt down beside her. Now there, she quickly realized that she had no idea how to cleanse someone. She looked up at Naraku, at a loss, but he merely looked down at her expectantly.

Maybe if she just used the spell that Kaede had taught her earlier…?

She said a little prayer, a bright pink light bubbling up from her fingertips. She held her hands over the girl, keeping her eyes closed as she muttered the cleansing prayer Kaede had taught her. Kagome had no idea what the spell was actually designed to do, since it had been designed to wake up the bond between Naraku and Kikyo, but she did her best. When Kikyo began to struggle and wince in pain, she cried out loudly. The spell seemed to keep her pinned in place, though she did what she could to fight against it. Kagome stayed focused, closing her eyes again, even as she felt Naraku moved to kneel beside her.

Hordes of demons rose from Kikyo. All screaming in pain as they were enraptured by the pink cleansing light and burned into nothingness. When the last demon left, Kagome sighed and fell back a little, only to be caught by Inuyasha, who had been close by the entire time. She looked up at him gratefully, feeling a shock flow through her at his touch. Her eyes blinked a little as she looked up at him, surprised by the feeling. Inuyasha smiled widely down at her, capturing her in a deep, crushing hug.

Naraku didn't say a word to them, he merely lifted Kikyo's form and began to carry her out of the observatory.

"Wait! How do I know that my aunt is okay?" Kagome called, looking at him with distrust. Naraku seemed to smirk at that.

"I believe that some people write letters, or e-mails. It's far more popular to call or text these days," he answered coyly before returning to his departure. As he was about to exit, the rest of their group came running up the staircase, both of them looking wild and excited.

Miroku and Sango ran to each other, enfolding one another in a hug.

Koga approached Kagome and Inuyasha with a smug grin. "So, looks like you both saved the day?" he observed, his voice rising at the end for confirmation. Kagome smiled and nodded, rising to her feet to give him a hug.

"Everything should be back to normal!" she nodded as he hugged the wolf demon. Inuyasha stirred beside her, grinning a little as Kagome pulled away. Kagome watched as the two boys patted each other on the backs and chuckled thankfully.

"Good! I can feel it, too. We did a nice job here," Koga stated with a wolfish grin.

"Of course, we did. We had all the right people," Inuyasha nodded, looking at Kagome with a smirk before reaching to give her hand a squeeze. She looked up into his honey eyes and smiled, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze in return.

"Yeah, we did."

* * *

Author's Note:  
I have been gone for so long, and I apologize for that. To make amends, I wrote up a chapter of 35 pages. I felt like it would be hard to read, so I split it into two separate chapters. Please enjoy the double update!


	19. Chapter 19

"I see. So, it was merely a matter of cleansing her spirit?" Toga surmised with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow. Inuyasha nodded.

"We went in, got the job done, and came right back out," he nodded with a smug grin. He made a sound like a chuckle before groaning in pain. Toga rose from his son's bed, allowing the boy the opportunity to get some proper healing done.

When Inuyasha and his crew had come in, broken, battered, yet successful, he could scarcely believe his eyes. He knew that Inuyasha was quite capable when he applied himself, but he couldn't help the warm pride that stirred within his chest. Izayoi had been the first to approach her wounded son, coddling and cooing in his ear as she led him to his room to recover. They had all followed, recounting the tale to himself, his wife, and Sesshomaru, who had largely remained passive throughout the story.

"Very well done, son. I am impressed with your success. Though, it does worry me that you did not bring her here. She should be taken to the demon court for trial," he reminded them.

Inuyasha huffed and rolled his eyes at that.

"Whatever. We already discussed this. She can't go to demon court because they'll just sentence her to death. Everything's been fixed, so there's no harm," Inuyasha retorted with a snort.

"She's bonded to one of the creepiest and grossest demons alive—I think she's had punishment enough," Kagome chortled, shaking her head in disbelief.

"She tried to kill you, your aunt, and your intended," Toga pointed out. "There needs to be more serious repercussions."

"I agree," Sesshomaru voiced, his baritone cutting through the conversation like a sword.

"Well, that's a worry for another time. Naraku has surely hidden them away for the time being, so why bother to dwell on it?" Izayoi chimed in, placing a hand on her husband's arm. The touch made them grin, that familiar shiver passing through the both of them. It was a pleasant reminder that they were once again bonded and happily mated.

"If she ever crosses my path, I will destroy her without hesitation," Sesshomaru informed the group with a cold stare. He moved to leave the room, though paused for a moment as he approached the door. "I commend you for your competence, Inuyasha," he bid before exiting the room, carrying the icy atmosphere with him. Toga watched as Inuyasha's expression widened.

"Alright. Well, enough of that for now, I suppose. Let's give him some space. We have food downstairs for everyone," the oldest demon bid, wrapping an arm around his wife and leading the crew downstairs. He watched as everyone said their goodbyes. Everyone except Kagome. Toga smiled knowingly and closed the door for the two of them to be alone for a moment.

* * *

After everything that had happened, Kagome was feeling more than a little out of sorts. It wasn't everyday that she experienced being impaled and thrown around like a ragdoll. Then again, maybe it wasn't so bad? Things surely could have turned out far worse than they had.

As she watched the rest of the family trickle out, along with their companions, Kagome let her gaze fall to the broken boy laying in his bed. His eyes seemed to be closed for the moment, face scrunched in pain as he breathed through his nose. She knew that the whole ordeal had been taxing on him—particularly when Kikyo had stabbed him as many times as she had. She supposed that the more demonic side of him didn't have as much sensitivity to pain as his more human side. She took a seat beside his bed, pulling up a chair from his desk. As she sat, she reached out to wrap her hand around his wrist gently. His face calmed immediately, and his eyes opened to meet hers with a soft gaze.

"Kagome," he breathed, as though her name were merely a whisper on the wind. She gave him a small smile.

"Inuyasha," she greeted back, whispering his voice as well.

"We did it…" he chuckled, shaking his head slightly. She knew that his neck was still sore from being restrained by the spell, but he didn't seem to mind it too much.

"Sorry for using the command…" she apologized, her eyes no longer able to meet his intense gaze. "I know I was only supposed to use it for emergencies, but—"

"No, you did the right thing. I wasn't… I wasn't in my right mind. If you hadn't done that…" he looked away as well, his expression somewhat sheepish. "I don't know if I would have been able to recover," he admitted, now looking back at her. "That's why I trusted _you_ with the command word," he explained, nodding a little.

His words eased the pain within her chest. She had been so worried that she had broken his trust by using the words of subjugation. He had been so angry at the time…

"Do you… Can you feel it?" he asked, his voice small and shy. She blinked and looked back at him, taking note of the way his ears pressed down against his head and his eyes flicked about the room as though trying to focus on anything else but her. His shyer nature warmed her heart and made her smile. Surely, he knew that she could feel the link, especially from all the touching that they had been doing. Still, she figured that he would feel better with a confirmation.

Kagome didn't answer at first, she merely took her hand away from his wrist and moved it to his clawed hand, barely grazing a fingertip before feeling that intense bold of lightning shoot up her spine and warm her gut. She shivered a little at the feeling—glad to have it back—and looked back to him. He couldn't contain the grin his face held. His hand wrapped around hers, giving it a soft squeeze as he shivered a little himself.

"It feels… weird," she admitted to him. His face seemed to pale a little at her statement and she felt his grip tighten ever so slightly, as though it were his silent refusal to accept her words.

"Weird… bad?"

"No. Weird… good. It's like…" she lifted their joined hands a little, carefully turning his around to get a better look at it. "When I didn't have it, I felt like I didn't have this weird adoration or infatuation with you," she admitted, trying to be delicate as she spoke. She watched Inuyasha swallow nervously, and she gave his hand a squeeze in reassurance.

"But I still held those feelings for you," she continued. "I still cared about you and still wanted to make sure that you were okay. The only difference was that it didn't feel like I had some magical connection with you. It just felt… natural," she explained, giving him a smile. His expression seemed to harden a little, his guard up.

"So… it doesn't feel natural anymore, is that what you're saying?" he asked, hurt creeping into his voice. She shook her head.

"It's not that. I guess… I feel more connected to you. I feel more aware of you in a way that I don't think humans can feel on their own," she conveyed simply. "I'm… I'm glad to have it back."

Inuyasha blinked a little and looked at her, searching for something that she couldn't describe. His hand moved from her own to cup her cheek softly. She leaned down to make it easier for him and placed a hand over his own. They both shivered at the contact, sharing smiles as they did so.

"And your wounds?" he asked, looking at her bandaged middle section. Naraku had managed to heal her, but without the power of a well-trained priestess like Kaede, her wounds might still hurt her.

"Getting better," she admitted with a nod. "Just a little sore."

Inuyasha's hand seemed to still against her face, and she could tell that he was fighting some kind of internal battle.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked softly. "When we go back, the whole school is bound to know about us. Most of the jocks got beaten to a pulp and a couple unlucky ones had to have their souls returned to their bodies."

Kagome sighed a little and shook her head. "Well, we just let them think what they want. If they want to know what happened, they'll either have to ask us directly, or just deal with it," she decided firmly. Inuyasha's grin seemed to widen at her words.

"Well, alrighty then. We'll straighten them out as they come," he nodded. "Only, uh… about the other thing…" he seemed to get a little pink in the face, and she almost wondered if he were coming down with another fever. "About _us_."

At his words, she felt her entire face heat up, knowing that she must have been bright red. He wanted to talk about their relationship? She supposed that it was only fair, considering that Kagome had made her choice and decided to fix the mating bond and keep it attached to her soul. She truly had come to see it as more of a gift than anything. She took a moment to scrutinize Inuyasha's expression. He looked up at her with daring, intense golden eyes. He was challenging her to reject him, readying his arsenal of quick replies and arguments. She could see behind the façade he tried so hard to maintain, but she knew at the end of the day…

Inuyasha was a vulnerable, scared boy who only really wanted to be loved.

Did she love him? Yes, yes, she did. With all her heart she loved him. She had been willing to die for him, to help him get better in any way that it took. When there was no bond pressuring her, no artificial feelings at play, she still chose him. She still needed him.

Of course, she couldn't just give him a straight answer.

"What about _'us_ '?" she asked, raising an eyebrow teasingly. Inuyasha's face grew red, and he seemed to balk at her.

"The fact that we're soulmates," he stated as though she were an idiot. She pretended to pout and stuffed her nose in the air.

"I thought we already had that conversation," she stated pompously. Inuyasha seemed at a loss for words for a moment before narrowing his honey eyes, realization dawning on him.

"Oh? Looks like I forgot. You'll have to jog my memory. What was the decision?" he asked, raising a challenging eyebrow at her playfully. She grinned when he began to play along.

"That we would just be friends. Good friends," she teased, her fingers dancing across his arm as she brought his hand down from her cheek and into her lap.

"Oh yeah? Huh, well, that ain't gunna fly," he shook his head. "Also, I'm pretty sure that I told you that I wasn't gunna give up," he reminded her, a toothy smirk on his lips.

"Good. I wouldn't want you to," she admitted seriously, looking at him with a genuine smile. Inuyasha seemed to halt at her words, caught off guard. He blushed wildly and looked away, tearing his eyes from her gaze.

"Do you… How does it sound?"

"What sound?"

"A… A life with me…?" he asked, his voice extremely gentle. Kagome's own expression softened, and she leaned forward with a smile.

"Get me through high school, and we'll see where you're at," she responded playfully, giving him a wink.

* * *

The next school day was a little strange. People were looking at the new couple warily, uncertainty flashing in their eyes as they passed. Inuyasha figured that it was probably because they had been wrapped around Kikyo's finger for so long, they just didn't know what to do now that everyone knew about Kikyo's meddling with the mating bond. A lot of demons moved out of their way, putting plenty of room between themselves and the group. Kagome gave his hand a squeeze and he looked down to meet her amused expression. Apparently, she found it just as amusing as he did.

"Looks like they've finally learned their place," Koga commented from behind them, moving up front and draping an arm around Kagome loosely. Inuyasha felt annoyance and possession creep up his neck at the proximity, but he knew that Koga was hopelessly devoted to his own intended, so there was little to worry about.

"They don't need to be afraid of anyone though," Kagome commented, her voice a little quiet. Inuyasha felt his ears press against his head. It was probably partially his fault that they were acting so strange. He had absolutely been putting off an intimidating aura, letting his demonic presence stretch out as a warning signal. He had just been wanting to make sure that no one was going to try anything funny with them today. Clearly, it had worked.

"Yeah, well, better for them to be scared than for them to be givin' us dirty looks," he shrugged, giving Kagome's hand a squeeze in return.

They had yet to solidify their relationship. She hadn't given him a clear answer about whether or not she was going to stay with him, but he found himself not worrying as much. Though she may not have outrightly said so, he could tell that she wasn't planning on leaving him any time soon.

"Did you all hear? Apparently, Kikyo and Naraku have been expelled from school," Miroku gossiped, peeking his head through the blockade in the front of their group as he walked behind them.

"Really?" he heard Kagome ask, looking back at the boy.

"Yes. Apparently, Principal Meido heard about the situation. The demon council was informed, and now she has to go face charges. One of the stipulations for a lighter punishment was that she would have to be expelled," Sango elaborated, shaking her head a little. Inuyasha looked back at the two humans with a bit of a shocked expression.

While it was true that what Kikyo did was wrong, she didn't deserve punishment from the demon council. She was a human, messing with things that she didn't know enough about. She didn't know that what she was doing was going to disrupt the very foundation of demon culture. Demon council didn't even deal with humans most of the time. If a human managed to disrupt their world in any capacity, they were usually just hunted down and executed. Inuyasha swallowed nervously. It was true that his heart no longer belonged to her, but Kikyo had been an important person in his life for a while. The thought of Kikyo being executed…

He felt Kagome give his hand another squeeze, and his eyes bolted down to look at her. She was gazing up at him with a conflicted expression. She looked like she was trying to ask him something, but wasn't sure if she could ask it.

"She didn't know what she was getting herself into," Inuyasha commented lightly, giving his intended the opportunity to understand his thoughts.

"Which is what makes it worse, don't you think?" Koga snorted, giving Inuyasha a snarky expression. "You can't go and tear apart everything that demons hold dear just because you aren't happy about it."

"Yeah, but the council is probably not gunna listen. She'll most likely be ruled against and then executed. That doesn't seem all that fair," Inuyasha protested.

"Maybe not, but it wasn't like she gave any of us a choice when she decided to just rip the bond away from some demons and throw all of it onto others," Koga pointed out, straightening his posture and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but that-"

"She tried to kill several demons and take their powers from them," Sango pointed out.

"Yeah, but-"

"She tried to kill you," Miroku pointed out.

"Yeah-"

"She tried to kill Kagome," Koga stated definitively.

Inuyasha's mouth shut tight, his teeth clamping down. Kikyo absolutely had tried to kill Kagome, and that… he wouldn't be able to forgive her for that. He shook his head and slumped his shoulders.

"Yeah… that's true," he conceded, looking down at the floor in front of them as they walked to the lunchroom. He felt Kagome's other hand come up to rub his arm in gentle, circular motions.

"Your dad is on the council, right? Maybe he will be able to convince them to go easy on her?" Kagome suggested. Inuyasha winced a little.

"Yeah… but Sesshomaru is on there as well…"

The words left in the air were answer enough.

With his brother on the council seat, there would be no easy trial. Kikyo would be facing a full panel of angry demons who cared little about the fragility of her humanity.

"Would she be able to hide?" Kagome asked, looking up at him. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"Actually… Naraku has been in hiding from the demon council for years. Apparently, he was praying off of human lifeforces within the town. He's been on the run for a while," Inuyasha remembered, looking down at her. "So… he might actually be on the run with her."

"The demon council will get them eventually, though," Koga added, shaking his head. "They never let any demon run free for too long."

Inuyasha felt a little surge of hope in his chest. He didn't like Kikyo, but he had hope that she would be okay. Death by demon council was one that he worried for any person, let alone someone who he had once thought he would spend his life with.

"In the meantime, let's just worry about getting through the winter finals," Kagome assured them, giving him a soft smile. He immediately thought back to when he had first seen that smile, and he was grateful that he had her in his life. He could have been stuck never knowing this kind of joy.

* * *

When Kagome had gotten home from Inuyasha's on Sunday, she had immediately rushed to see if her aunt was okay. What had surprised her the most was that the woman was still sleeping. When she called Izayoi about it, she had been told to give the woman a few days to recover. As the school day went on, she wondered if her aunt had woken up yet. She really wished that she could be there for when she did, but she knew that she had to be patient. Regardless of this, she found herself to be full of nerves and worried jitters. What if her aunt woke up and was confused? What if she woke up and didn't even know her name? What if she never woke up? What if-

" _Would Kagome Higurashi and Inuyasha Takahashi please report to the Principal's office?_ " the speaker blared, disrupting her panicked thoughts. Everyone in her classroom gave her a questioning look—all curious to know just what had gone down yesterday. Kagome couldn't spare them an answer, because the teacher was motioning for her to leave quietly with her things.

When she arrived at the principal's office, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was already there. Well, she felt it before she actually saw him. That familiar pull in her gut always told him when he was nearby. A grin etched its way on her nervous face, despite her trying to remain passive and calm. When his eyes met hers, he mirrored her grin, showing a couple teeth as he did so.

"Glad to see you could make it, Miss Higurashi. Now, please come in," a voice greeted her, causing her eyes to snap away from Inuyasha and focus on the slender form of Principal Meido. The principal didn't seem hostile or upset, but Kagome knew from her experience with demons so far that they didn't always wear their emotions so easily on their faces.

When the two of them sat down on separate chairs, Kagome felt Inuyasha's hand reach out to hold her own. She accepted, giving it a squeeze before returning his hand to him. Principal Meido stood before the two of them as she took her seat behind her desk, not looking at either of them just yet. When she was settled, she sighed and turned her attention to both of them.

"I already know what happened yesterday. Mr. Takahashi told me everything," she began, looking at Inuyasha for a moment. "What I need to understand is _why_. Do you understand _why_ Kikyo would be so willing to risk her life and humanity for something like this?"

Kagome swallowed, unsure of whether it was her place to answer or not. She glanced over at Inuyasha, whose hands were gripping his chair tightly.

"She said that she hated being soulmates with someone like Naraku," Inuyasha answered, looking away. "She said it was torture."

The principal seemed to consider this for a moment before looking at Kagome. "Did any of this seem premeditated to you? Did you know that she was going to do something like this?"

Kagome's eyes went wide as she thought back to the moment in the library… Where Kikyo had cornered her and given her that proposal.

"She… well… she asked me one time how I would feel if there were a way to get rid of the mating bond," she answered. "But other than that, I had no idea that she had been planning this. I don't think she knew what she was doing until she met Naraku."

"Ah, but that last part is opinion. I need facts. Did you know, Inuyasha? You were with her for a year," the Principal prodded, leaning forward in her chair slightly.

"I… No. I had no clue she was going to do something like this. She had never been fond of the idea of a soulmate, but she never said anything about getting rid of it or knowing how," he answered. "She wasn't happy when we broke up because… I had met my soulmate. I tried to tell her that she and I could work something out, but she didn't want to hear it. Honestly, I think she knew that I wasn't going to be able to work it out with her…" he admitted, looking down at his lap in shame.

The principal was quiet for a moment, jotting down some notes on her stationary before looking at the two of them.

"So, this started because you two met?" she deduced, raising an eyebrow. Inuyasha's face went red at that, but he nodded. Kagome bit her lip.

"Is she… is she going to get a fair trial?" Kagome asked, looking up at the principal. The white-haired woman regarded her with a soft expression.

"Though my son may wish for it to be swift, I can assure you that so long as Toga and I are on the council, there will be a fair trial held for Miss Kikyo," Principal Meido assured the two of them. "Actually, that was something that I had to bring up with the two of you, as well. It has been several months since the two of you first met. According to demon law, you must appear before council to decide your fate."

Kagome's eyes went wide at that, and she looked at Inuyasha with a surprised expression. Inuyasha seemed to mirror her face and looked to the Principal with a bit of shock.

"What? I don't remember dad ever saying anything about that!"

"Did he give you the book?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Inuyasha shrank a little and he looked at the ground. "Well… maybe, but I don't see why that matters."

"If you had read the book, you would have known that three months after meeting your chosen, you have to report to the demon council as to the status of your bond. If they determine that things are going well, they will issue a date for the mateship. If things are going poorly, they will issue a priestess to act as a mediator," the older woman explained to the two of them.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha with a panicked expression. She hadn't known that they would have to make such a big decision so soon.

"Thankfully, because you are both still young, you won't be asked to schedule a date until after high school," she assured them, somehow able to read Kagome's expression. "Not only this, but you will only have to seek out the Inu-yokai members of the demon council."

Kagome looked over and watched Inuyasha's shoulders slump.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a little surprised.

"That means my dad, brother, and my aunt are going to be our judges," he explained, pouting a little.

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"They'll already know how it's going…" he answered cryptically, glancing up at the Principal with narrowed eyes. Kagome looked up at the woman who was merely smiling back at her softly. When she noticed the crescent moon on her forehead, realization clicked in.

Principal Meido was his aunt.

She immediately straightened her posture a little better.

"But what if they don't want to decide on a date?" she asked, speaking mostly hypothetically. The principal seemed to raise an eyebrow at that.

"Then they would be required to provide reasons and proof. If those reasons can be resolved, the priestess resolves them," she repeated, grinning slightly at the both of them.

Kagome shook her head and looked over at Inuyasha who was clearly embarrassed and unhappy at the new information.

Now that it was something that they were going to have to make a decision on, she figured that it would be about the right time to actually talk about it.

When the Principal excused the two of them, Kagome felt Inuyasha's hand brush up against hers. She accepted it immediately, both of them shivering a little, and looked up at his red face.

"Do you want to come over and talk about it?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, we probably should," he answered, though he sounded a little defeated. "I'm sorry that this is being forced on you. I didn't know that we would have to give a report."

"It's alright. Honestly, I think it'll help us a lot," she admitted, blushing a little at the intense expression that she received.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… we're soulmates. It was bound to happen anyways," she answered with a shy smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

"But… but you-"

"I think our report is going to go really well," she informed him, a sly grin eating at her face as she watched Inuyasha blush and stop her.

He looked down at her, something in his expression leading her to believe that he was trying to tell if she was lying. When he brought her to his chest for a tight hug, she laughed a little and squeezed him back, reveling in the feeling of being embraced so warmly by him.

When he pulled away slightly to look at her, she felt like she was on air.

When he leaned down to kiss her, it was as though life itself had stopped.

Yeah, she could get used to that.

* * *

Author's Note:  
Second part of chapter 18! We are quickly coming to a close here. I am at a crossroads. I can either make the next chapter an epilogue or I can make chapter 21 an epilogue. Which would you all prefer? I hope you are all doing well and getting through any finals you might have. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! See ya later!


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